Two Swedish nationals were shot dead in Brussels’ city center on Monday evening, part of what the country’s prime minister suggested was a terrorist attack.
The gunman remains on the run, authorities said, and Brussels has since been placed under its maximum security alert level.
“I have just offered my sincere condolences to @SwedishPM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted, calling the incident a “cowardly assassination attempt. “As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one,” he added.
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Authorities say shots first rang out near Place Sainctelette and Boulevard du Neuvième de Ligne shortly after 7 p.m.—about three miles from where Sweden’s soccer team was slated to play in the Belgian capital later that evening.
Ilse Van de Keere, a police spokesperson, confirmed to VRT News that two men were killed and that the suspected shooter is on the run. She declined to provide further details, though several news outlets reported that the men were wearing Swedish soccer jerseys.
The game, a Euro 2024 qualifier match between the two national teams, was abandoned at halftime as the game stood at 1-1. Swedish players opted not to continue playing after the attack, a decision Belgium’s national team supported, according to British newspaper The Mirror.
Following the attack, France announced that it would be tightening controls along its border with Belgium.
An unconfirmed video circulating online showed a man—believed to be the gunman—wearing a fluorescent orange jacket and speaking Arabic as he reportedly drove a moped near the Heizel stadium.
VRT News reported that the man fired at a crowd using a rifle—a “weapon of war”—as he chased fleeing people into a building before he fled the scene himself.
At least one Belgian newspaper reported that he shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire.
The man also identified himself as a member of the Islamic State in the video message, according transcription published by Reuters. “Your brother took revenge in the name of Muslims,” he said, while also claiming that he had killed three people.
