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Soldiers shoot person at Brussels Central railway station Soldiers shoot suspected terrorist at Brussels Central railway station
(about 2 hours later)
A suspected terrorist has been shot and “neutralised” by soldiers at Brussels Central station after what the police described as a small explosion. A suspected terrorist was shot by soldiers in one of Brussels’ main railway stations on Tuesday night after what police described as a small explosion.
Police quickly declared the incident under control. Belgian media reported that the station was evacuated, along with the nearby Grand Place, a major tourist site. Officers believe the man was wearing an explosive belt and a witness at Brussels central station reportedly heard the man call out “Allahu Akbar” – God is great in Arabic – before the blast.
A spokesman for the federal police said the incident had occurred between shortly between 8pm and 9pm local time (1800-1900 GMT) but was unable to say whether the suspect had been killed. Police quickly announced they had the situation under control, though officials could not immediately say if the suspect was dead or alive.
He said: “There was a small explosion and the military on site shot him. At this stage, no other person has been injured and the situation is under control. “There was a small explosion and the military on site shot him. At this stage, no other person has been injured and the situation is under control,” a spokesman for the federal police said.
“At the moment we are looking at the person who is believed to have had the explosive belt on him. We cannot confirm. We do not know if he is dead as it is a live operation.” “At the moment, we are looking at the person who is believed to have had the explosive belt on him … we do not know if he is dead as it is a live operation.”
According to a commissioner of the Brussels police area, the small explosion went off when soldiers fired at the suspect. Nicolas Van Herrewegen, a railway sorting agent who was in the station as the incident unfolded, said: “I went down to the mezzanine level, someone was shouting. Then he cried ‘Allahu Akbar’, and he blew up a trolley.
A spokesman for Belgium’s railway operator said: “A crowd panicked in the station and ran for the tracks after an incident.” “I was behind a wall when it exploded. I went down and alerted my colleagues to evacuate everyone. [The suspect] was still around but after that, we didn’t see him.
SNCB trains to Brussels Central were diverted after the incident and soldiers were seen on patrol. “It wasn’t exactly a big explosion but the impact was pretty big. People were running away.”
According to the Belgian newspaper La Libre, the man who was shot was wearing a rucksack and a bomb belt. He detonated a device when he attracted the attention of soldiers in the station, the paper reported. According to the Belgian newspaper, La Libre Belgique, the man detonated a device after he attracted the attention of soldiers who were patrolling the station.
A fire service spokesman, Pierre Meys, confirmed there had been an explosion in the station and that firefighters were at the scene but said it appeared there was no danger to others. He could not say what had caused the blast. After the incident, which took place at about 8.30pm on Tuesday, the station and the nearby historic downtown area, including the Grand Place, was partly evacuated as police set up a security cordon.
A government spokesman said: “Prime minister Charles Michel and interior minister Jan Jambon are following the situation very closely from the crisis center.” About two hours later, Eric Van Der Sypt, from the federal prosecutor’s office, said the incident was being treated as a terror attack but that the prosecutor’s office still had “no idea” of the suspect’s identity.
The city’s police force said on Twitter that the incident involved one person and, according to the Reuters news agency, a police spokesman added that there were no casualties, other than the person targeted by the military. According to the Associated Press, the Brussels prosecutor’s office said there appeared to be no civilian injuries or deaths. At around the same time, the Belgian government’s crisis centre said bomb disposal experts had been sent to the scene and a controlled explosion was possible.
Reuters quoted the police spokesman as saying: “There was an accident at Central station. There was an explosion around a person. That person was neutralised by the soldiers that were on the scene. At the moment, the police are in numbers at the station and everything is under control.” In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Brussels police confirmed that only one person had been involved and a police spokesman told the Reuters news agency that there were no other casualties.
The station and the adjacent historic downtown area, packed with tourists and locals on a hot summer evening, was partly evacuated as police set up a security cordon. “There was an incident at Central station. There was an explosion around a person. That person was neutralised by the soldiers that were on the scene. At the moment, the police are in numbers at the station and everything is under control.”
The Grand Place, one of the city’s top tourist attractions, was also evacuated as a precaution. The beautiful gothic square, which is a five-minute walk from Central station would have been thronged with people on a warm midsummer night. In the nearby Galeries St-Hubert, a 19th-century arcade of shops and cafes, people stayed indoors. The prime minister, Charles Michel, and interior minister Jan Jambon were following the situation very closely from the government’s crisis centre, a spokesman said.
State broadcaster RTBF showed footage of two military-style vehicles parking outside Central station. Michel thanked the soldiers and security service and rail operator personnel for “their professionalism and their courage”.
Belgium’s national rail operator, the SNCB, said services had been halted at Brussels Central, Brussels Nord and Brussels Midi by order of the police, while officers referred commuters to the SNCB for more details. The Grand Place is one Brussels’ most popular tourist destinations. The beautiful gothic square is a five-minute walk from the Central station and would have been thronged with people on a warm midsummer night. In the nearby Galerie St-Hubert, a 19th-century arcade of shops and cafes, people stayed indoors.
The city has been on high alert for more than 18 months since Brussels-based Islamic State militants carried out attacks in Paris that killed 130 people there in November 2015 then bombed Brussels airport and the city’s metro in March last year. Brussels Central station is at the heart of the capital, as well as of Belgium’s rail network. After the incident, a security perimeter was put in place.
In March last year, attacks on Brussels airport and on the city’s metro system, killed 32 people. The metro, which passes under the station, was not stopping at this point and the Belgian national rail operator, the SNCB, said services were not stopping at three of Brussels Central, Midi or Nord stations.
Two suicide bombers killed 16 people at Brussels airport, and moments later a suicide bomb at Brussels’ Maelbeek subway station killed another 16, on 22 March. “A crowd panicked in the station and ran for the tracks after an incident,” a spokesman said.
The Belgian capital has been on high alert for more than 18 months, since Brussels-based Isis militants carried out attacks in Paris that killed 130 people in November 2015, then bombed Brussels airport and the city’s metro in March last year, killing 32 people.
Two suicide bombers killed 16 at the airport and, moments later, a suicide bomb at Maelbeek subway station killed another 16.
Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Isis and several of those involved in the bloodshed were directly linked to the November attacks in Paris, also claimed by Isis, which left 130 dead and were planned in Brussels.Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Isis and several of those involved in the bloodshed were directly linked to the November attacks in Paris, also claimed by Isis, which left 130 dead and were planned in Brussels.