Belgian police have arrested an attacker who knifed three people in a Brussels metro station on Monday (30 January), leaving one with critical injuries, officials said.
While the motives of the attacker, a 30-year-old man, remain unclear, police have ruled out a terrorist attack, the prosecutor’s office said, confirming the arrest.
A source close to the investigation told Reuters the attacker was previously known by the police.
Knife attack in Brussels Schuman metro station. Police aresting the susspect. #Brussel #schuman #Police #knifeattack #attack #knife pic.twitter.com/jtTuZCDd96
— Zoran Popovici (@zoran_popovici) January 30, 2023
“Cooperation with the various federal police services and (the local police) ensured that the perpetrator could be arrested quickly”, Brussels’ mayor Philippe Close said on Twitter.
The attack happened at 5.45pm local time in a subway car as it arrived at Schuman station, a stop known to be busy at rush hour.
Footage circulating on social media shows how police held the suspect at gunpoint, then forced him to the ground and handcuffed him.
One of the wounded is in a critical condition and all three are being treated in hospital.
According to several travelers, who testified to the facts on social networks, one of the victims is a young boy who was the victim of this knife attack.
A witness told ‘DH Les Sports’ the suspect tried to continue his attack by running into the station and trying to attack a woman with a stroller.
According to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office, the first indications do not suggest a terrorist act.
According to the Belgian broadcaster RTBF, the suspect is not known to the intelligence services for extremism or terrorism. However, he is reportedly known to the police for “other facts”.
(Edited by Georgi Gotev)
Source: euractiv.com
