Police and prosecutors are continuing their investigations into a knife attack in the immediate vicinity of the EU Commission. After the incident with three injuries – one of them life-threatening, as a police spokeswoman said – the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday evening that there was no evidence of terrorism. Further details on the motive and possible background to the crime were not given.
The attack took place in a busy subway station just after work. A man is said to have attacked the people with a knife. Footage circulating on social media is said to show police at gunpoint making the suspect lie on the ground. The Belgian media said, without naming an exact source, that the suspect had already become mentally disturbed.
The alleged perpetrator was arrested in the subway station, as a dpa reporter observed on site. The man, wearing a striped T-shirt, was lying on his stomach in the entryway, hands behind his back, while a police officer knelt on him. Emergency services with dogs shielded the scene. A few minutes earlier, passers-by had shouted: “He has a knife,” as a dpa reporter heard at the station shortly before 6 p.m.
Attack directly in front of the EU Commission
As can be seen in photos, rescue workers treated a blood-smeared young man right in front of the main entrance of the EU Commission, the seat of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Schuman station is right between important EU institutions and is used by many EU employees. The EU Commission, the Council of the European Union and the EU Foreign Service are right next to the station.
In the evening, Brussels Mayor Philippe Close wrote on Twitter: “Knife attack in the Schuman station”. Good cooperation between the police led to a quick arrest. EU Council President Charles Michel thanked the emergency services and expressed his condolences to the victims.
As the Brussels transport company announced on Twitter, local public transport in the area around the Schumann stop had been partially stopped due to the police operation.
