Belgian police officers keep watch behind a cordon at the scene of a shooting in Brussels on Monday. Two people believed to be Swedish soccer fans died in an apparent terrorism incident, Belgian police said. Photo by Olivier Hoslet/EPA-EFE
Two people were shot to death by an armed assailant in the Belgian capital of Brussels late Monday in an apparent terror attack on Swedish soccer fans in the city to attend an international match.
Police confirmed to Belgian broadcaster RTBF that shots were fired around 7:15 p.m. local time near Place Sainctelette, one of the city’s main intersections, killing two people. Advertisement
No one was yet in custody, they said.
Local media reports indicated the victims were wearing jerseys of the Swedish national team, which played against the Belgian national team in Brussels Monday night in a UEFA European Championships qualifying match at King Baudouin Stadium.
Authorities are working under the assumption the slayings were a terrorist attack, the Brussels daily Le Soir reported.
An unverified social media video viewed by police and media shows a man claiming to be a jihadist and a member of Islamic State claiming responsibility for the attack, saying he killed three Swedes in an act of revenge for “the Muslims.”
The attacker is believed to have fired shots at a third person in a lobby before killing the two victims, who were in a taxi, RTBF reported. Advertisement
Belgium’s National Crisis Center raised the nation’s terrorism alert status to its highest level of 4.
Police have mobilized a high-level response to the incident to “guarantee safety” in the capital, Brussels Mayor Phillipe Close said a social media post, adding he is coordinating the effort along with Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden at the Crisis Center.
“The investigation by the police and the prosecution is ongoing,” Verlinden said.
The Belgium-Sweden soccer match was abandoned at halftime with score tied 1-1 as Belgium Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo confirmed the victims of the attack were Swedish nationals.
“I have just offered my sincere condolences to @SwedishPM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels,” de Croo wrote on X. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one.”
“We ask all spectators in the football stadium to follow the instructions of the emergency services,” the crisis managers said in a message addressed to game attendees.
