Two Swedes were killed in a shooting late Monday, October 16, in central Brussels, police said, prompting Belgium’s prime minister and senior Cabinet minister to hunker down at their crisis center for an emergency meeting. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was linked to terrorism, or to the international uproar over the Israel-Hamas war.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo slammed the "harrowing attack" on Monday evening. "I have just offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish PM following tonight's harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels," De Croo said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one."
"A horrible shooting in Brussels, and the perpetrator is actively being tracked down," said Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, adding that she joining government talks at the National Crisis Center.
Media reports aired amateur videos showing a man shooting several times near a station using a large weapon. A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters, said the two victims were Swedes. The Swedish national soccer team was scheduled to play Belgium at Heysel Stadium later in the evening, some 3 miles (5 kilometers) away.
Police spokeswoman Ilse Vande Keere said officers arrived soon at the scene and sealed off the immediate neighborhood. She declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the shooting. The shooting came a a time of increased vigilance linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has heightened tension in several European nations. At the same time, the Belgian capital has been the scene of increased violence linked to increasing international drug trafficking.