“The end of an ordeal,” breathes Sarah D., a Brussels student: Abdesalem L., the author of a deadly shooting in the center of the Belgian capital which left two dead on Monday evening, was finally shot dead by the authorities, we learned this Tuesday morning. Sarah D. spent the evening confined to her home, “afraid that he would come to (her) house”.
It was 7:15 p.m. this Monday when the suspect, a 45-year-old Tunisian in an irregular situation, drove onto a sidewalk on a scooter near the city center of Brussels, near Place Sainctelette. Armed with an automatic rifle, the man gets out of his vehicle and approaches a group of people who were getting out of a taxi. The latter, of Swedish origin, fled running into a building hall. Shots are fired, and one person collapses. The assailant reverses, then shoots a second victim before fleeing on his scooter.
The suspect is “known to the police for suspicious acts of human trafficking, illegal residence and attacks on state security,” explained the Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne. The man had already been suspected of Islamist radicalization twice. However, the reports were never successful.
An hour after the attack, a protest video in Arabic was broadcast on Facebook. The suspect, in a fluorescent orange coat and a hat, films himself walking in the street. Claiming to have “killed three Swedes” whom he calls “disbelievers”, he explains that he is part of the Islamic State and says he is ready to die for his religion. It was around the same time that people in Brussels received a text message from the government reporting a “terrorist attack” in progress, and were asked to stay at home. “I saw news passing through on Twitter and Snapchat,” says Sarah, a young Brussels resident, who spoke to Le Figaro by telephone. The 22-year-old law student lives about five kilometers from the scene of the shooting. “I went down to my street to do some shopping, and I immediately went back to my house. People were starting to talk loudly in the store, saying that we had to go home quickly, that there was a killer in the streets.”
On Twitter and Snapchat, videos of the killer riding a motorcycle in the streets of Brussels, gun pointed downwards, are pouring in and fueling doubt about the number of attackers. “As the message sent by the authorities was very succinct, we were afraid that there would be several shooters,” testifies Édouard Brocher, financial consultant, who lives right next to the city center. Sirens tear through the night and the streets are tinted with the blue of police flashing lights.
At the same time, social networks are reporting the real-time movements of the shooter who appears to be heading towards the King Baudoin stadium, where a football match between Belgium and Sweden is taking place. The meeting must take place at 9 p.m. on the same day. Around 8:30 p.m., “the information began to reach our ears,” tells Le Figaro Mathieu Darbas, journalist for So Foot, who was at the stadium. “We didn’t really know if it was true or not, and RTBF didn’t say anything…” At the stadium, the pressure was mounting, supporters and journalists were getting agitated.
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In the 31st minute, Belgian player Romelu Lukaku took a penalty, to general indifference. “It was the least celebrated penalty of my entire career as a sports journalist,” Mathieu smiles bitterly. The atmosphere becomes distressing. “We received very poor reception,” adds Camille Lamury, a 20-year-old Belgian student, who was also at the stadium. “The news was trickling in, my mother called me to tell me: the killer has a weapon, he’s coming towards you, don’t leave the stadium!”
The referee finally whistles for half-time. Some supporters and journalists tried to leave the stadium, but were turned back by security services. 35,000 people are confined within the compound. Swedish supporters, who have just learned the nationality of the victims, flock to the press briefings. “They were afraid, and they thought the press stands would be more secure,” explains Mathieu. Tempers rise in the stands, while adults try to protect the youngest from the terrible news. Camille decides not to say anything to her little brother who accompanies her that evening, “to protect him and to avoid creating a panic”, but the student does not hide her face. “We knew we were the next targets, if the shooter managed to get in.”
In the stands, songs of support for the Swedish victims rise up. “Everyone was reassured,” recalls Mathieu. “The Belgian fans surrounded the opposing fans.”
Relieved, some worried, the spectators of the Belgium-Sweden match left the King Baudouin stadium shortly before midnight, after having been confined there for two and a half hours. The stands are evacuated one after the other. The taxis are stormed, but the metro is still running, heavily monitored by the Belgian police services. “We were asked to move forward, not to remain static to avoid crowds,” adds Mathieu, “but people took advantage of the return of the network to call their loved ones.”
Also read: Shooting in Brussels: “In Belgium, we were wrong to believe that the Islamist threat was behind us”
Night has long since fallen, but minds are heating up as they try to guess the shooter’s route. “I didn’t understand why the police hadn’t arrested him yet,” admits Édouard. “He was still in a fluorescent orange vest, on a scooter with a weapon… He was quite conspicuous.” “He had to hide with an accomplice to avoid the police,” Sarah believes. Several searches took place during the night, in Brussels and its surroundings, but without success.
The chase finally ended this Tuesday morning. Abdesalem L. was shot dead by the security services. He died in hospital. “There were a lot of people in the streets this morning, people in suits going to work,” Sarah describes. “You have to believe that life goes on. »
