A vaccination centre in the Flemish town of Lint in the Antwerp province went into lockdown for an hour on Friday afternoon, as a thought-to-be-armed man was seen hanging around in the area.
Around noon, the police received a call from a witness near the vaccination centre in the AED Studios, saying that they had seen someone walking around with a firearm, according to Reiner Smets of the Hekla police zone.
"Given the threats, we took no chances and immediately put the vaccination centre into lockdown," he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
The local police received assistance from the quick response team of the Antwerp police zone, but the suspicious man turned out to be carrying an airsoft gun, which are replica toy guns used in airsoft sports.
"He had taken his weapon for maintenance somewhere in the neighbourhood, and had come to collect it," Smets added. "So, no criminal offences were committed."
After about an hour, the vaccination centre was released again, the spokesperson for AED Studios, Filip Van Vlem, confirmed to local newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen. "We can again safely continue with the vaccinations and want to thank the police for the smooth cooperation," he added.
The Brussels Times
