A man suspected of helping to deliver the weapon used in the Brussels terror attack in October 2023 was arrested last week in the Netherlands. The attack claimed the lives of two Swedish football supporters.
A person was arrested in the Netherlands last week in connection with the search for the weapon used in the Brussels terror attack in October 2023. Several local media had reported on the arrests, and the news was confirmed to Belga News Agency by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office. Another man believed to have supplied the attacker's firearm was arrested last weekend at Malaga Airport in Spain.
"Both are suspected of having contributed to the search for weapons used in the attack," it noted. "Belgium has requested the surrender of these suspects."
The current investigation aims to confirm or deny the two men's probable involvement in the preparation of the attack. "France, the Netherlands and Belgium are working together in a joint investigation team with the support of Eurojust," the Prosecutor's office added. In the interests of the investigation, no further information has been provided.
October attack
Just after 19:00 on 16 October 2023, Tunisian national Abdesalem Lassoued (45) opened fire on a taxi near Place Sainctelette, killing two Swedish football supporters.
The fans were in Brussels to support their national team at a match against Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium. A third passenger, a Swedish man in his 70s, was seriously injured in the vehicle.
Video footage posted on social media shows the male shooter, who was dressed in an orange jacket and white helmet, shooting a rifle and shouting Allah Akhbar. He chased the two victims into the lobby of a building, then returned to the street and fired at several cars. He then fled the scene on a scooter.
After an hours-long manhunt, Lassoued was found by Belgian police at a café in Schaerbeek the next morning. Lassoued was shot in the chest in the ensuing firefight; he was later taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
