Belgian police say that two people are dead in central Brussels after several shots were fired
ByThe Associated Press
October 16, 2023, 2:50 PM
BRUSSELS — Two people were killed in a shooting late Monday in central Brussels, Belgian police said.
Media reports aired amateur videos showing a man shooting several times near a station using a large weapon, and Belgian broadcasters 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 at 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.
