A gunman who claims allegiance to ISIS has attacked a group of Swedish citizens in Brussels who had traveled there to watch their national soccer team play Belgium. Two Swedish soccer fans were killed after they were shot in a taxi as they traveled through Grand Plaza to reach the King Baudouin Stadium. According to reports, a third victim was seriously injured.
Witnesses reported that the gunman was wearing “a crash helmet” and a “fluorescent jacket” while wielding “a Kalashnikov style” weapon. He approached the taxi in a scooter, and fired while shouting “Allahu akbar.” The gunman also shot at a man inside a building nearby, but there are no further details available.
Videos of the shootings and the alleged attacker have appeared on X/Twitter.
JUST IN: Gunman in Brussels kills 2 Swedish Nationals stating he needed to “Avenge Muslims”..
Belgian police have initiated a massive manhunt in Brussels and surrounding areas, the suspect still remains at large..
IS THIS JUST THE BEGINNING? pic.twitter.com/IdmRi0ouWp
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) October 16, 2023
A second video of the alleged shooter has been released in which, in Arabic, he celebrates the murder of two soccer fans and claims to have committed this terrorist act on behalf of ISIS. The police have confirmed the identity of the man they are currently pursuing for the shootings.
According to reports, Brussels’ terror level has been raised as a result:
JUST IN – Terror alert level in Brussels has been raised to four, the highest level — Nieuwsblad
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 16, 2023
The Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reports that the gunman who may use the name “Slayem Slouma” admitted in a video that he was acting as revenge for the death of Wadea Al-Fayoume (6 years old), a US-Palestinian child who was stabbed and killed this past Saturday, at his home, Plainfield, Illinois.
According to my colleague, Joseph Czuba, 71, is charged with “three counts first-degree homicide, one count attempted first-degree homicide, two counts aggravated assault, and two hate crimes” for the stabbing death of the child. Federal charges are also possible. Czuba was the owner of the home where the Al-Fayoume Family lived. However, the landlord feared for his safety because of the Palestinian family. His paranoia may have been heightened by the “Day of Jihad” last week.
Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, urged citizens to be vigilant in the wake of today’s murders.
I send my deepest sympathies to the families of those who were killed in the cowardly attack on Brussels.
From the national crisis center, I follow developments with the Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs.
It is not the first terrorist attack that has taken place in Brussels. Two coordinated attacks took place on March 22, 2016, when suicide bombers blew up bombs in the Brussels Airport at Zaventem, and in a train departing the Maalbeek/Maelbeek Metro station in central Brussels. At least 300 people were injured and 32 died in the attacks. Six men were convicted earlier this year of murder and two other men on terror charges for these attacks.
As of the time this article was written, the shooter is still at large.
