A hitchhiker opened fire on a car containing a family and child in the municipality of Anthisnes, Wallonia on 1 May following a verbal altercation, according to RTL info and Sudinfo.
According to the Condroz police, a young couple and their child from Seraing were travelling towards Liège on Sunday evening, when they stopped to pick up a hitchhiker.
After pulling over, an altercation broke out between the driver and the hitchhiker, who then proceeded to fire shots towards the vehicle.
It is unclear whether the young couple were struck with gunfire, or whether they sustained injuries in a resulting car crash.
RTL claims that the mother was injured in a subsequent car crash, while Belgian newspaper Sudinfo states that both the driver and passenger were struck by gunfire.
The Condroz police force were unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Sudinfo asserts that the young mother is injured and the driver in a critical condition.
Local police, assisted by members of the federal police, launched a man-hunt for the suspect. The large search is reported to have involved a helicopter and several dog handler teams.
Messages shared on social media called on locals to stay at home while the search was underway.
Translation: Notice to the public: Following active searches carried out in the town of Anthisnes on the night of 1-2 May, we would like to reassure the public that the situation is under control and there is no longer any danger. This is in order to reassure inhabitants of the town who have shared messages of social networks.
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After several hours of searching, the suspect was found and arrested. A post on Facebook by the Condroz police force later assured locals that the danger had now passed and that the situation was “under control.”
Road traffic along the N638 road was disrupted for several hours due to the incident.
