The Belgian authorities arrested this Friday in Antwerp a suspect of trying to run him over with a van on an esplanade in the center of Brussels, which caused six minor injuries and fled.
The incident, which took place around 1:00 p.m. local time (2:00 p.m. in continental Portugal), caused the Coordinating Body for Threat Analysis (OCAM) momentarily raise the terrorist alert from level 2 to 3 (out of four possible) in some “sensitive places” of the Belgian capital.
The episode took place on one of Brussels’ best-known shopping streets, and the vehicle was later found not far from the incident area and without the driver, who has since been located and detained in Antwerp. There is no data yet on whether it was an intentional attack.
The mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, told a local newspaper that a van “turned down Rue Saint-Michel, turned down the same street and headed towards the esplanade of an establishment”, but that, “luckily, several people were able to dodge it.” being run over.”
“There were no injuries that should be hospitalized, just some people in a state of shock,” added Close, who clarified that the victims of the incident, who were taken to a police station for questioning, were “a mix of tourists, city officials and inhabitants of the capital“.
The mayor refused to “draw conclusions before the investigators” about whether it was an intentional act, but acknowledged that “the vehicle was traveling at a very high speed and moved towards the esplanade.”
Source: Observadora
