Man who lashed out with knife at Belgian prime minister's office already struck at U.S. embassy
Monday morning, January 6, military police overpowered a man with a knife in front of Rue de la Loi 16 in Brussels.
Rue de la Loi 16 is the address of the office of the Prime Minister of Belgium and houses his Cabinet and Chancellery.
“During his approach, he made incoherent remarks and pulled a knife,” said prosecutor's office spokesperson Yasmina Vanoverschelde. “The military managed to intervene quickly. They convinced the suspect to put down the knife and made him surrender without further resistance. Then they were able to overpower him.”
It is now clear that the suspect is a 29-year-old man. He has also been officially charged with attempted murder and possession of weapons. So reports the Brussels public prosecutor's office. But the man's motive remains guesswork for now. The prosecutor's office confirms that the man was previously involved in an incident in April 2024. Then he tried to attack a security guard with a knife at the entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels.
The prosecutor's office has now requested an investigating judge for both incidents for attempted murder and prohibited possession of weapons, and has requested a psychiatric assessment of the suspect.
(SR for Tagtik/Source: Belga - HLN - RTL/Illustration: Aaron Burden for Unsplash)