3 dead in shooting at Brussels Jewish Museum
3 dead in shooting at Brussels Jewish Museum
Attack is a result of ‘climate of hate,’ says head of Belgian League Against anti-Semitism; Belgian FM: ‘Shocked by the murders’
Three people were killed and one person was in critical condition following a shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum on Saturday.
A Jewish community figure, Joel Rubinfeld, told AFP it clearly “is a terrorist act” as a man had been seen driving up and entering the museum before opening fire inside and running off.
Rubinfeld, who heads the country’s league against anti-Semitism, said the act was the result of “a climate of hate.”
The country’s foreign minister, Didier Reynders, tweeted Saturday that he was “shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish museum.”
“I am thinking of the victims I saw there and their families,” he said.
The La Libre newspaper said on its website that an Audi had driven up and parked outside the museum, and that both a passenger and the driver had gotten out.
It said the driver placed two bags on the ground and then opened fire on bystanders before driving off.
“A person wearing a backpack was seen opening fire before fleeing,” Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF) reported.
Twelve people were being treated for shock, according to local sources.
Police and emergency services were at the site, which was blocked off in the Belgian capital.
A bystander, Alain Sobotic, told AFP he had seen the foreign minister at the scene
No information was immediately available from police on the circumstances of the shoot-out but Sobotic said he had seen two bodies just inside the doors of the museum, a young woman and a man.
The Jewish Museum of Belgium, which was not answering calls, is located in the heart of the Sablon district which is home to the city’s top antique dealers.
Interior Minister Joelle Milquet too was in the area, a popular weekend haunt for shoppers and holidayers.
The head of Belgium’s Jewish Consistory told La Libre that “is is probably a terrorist act. For us it is an extremely serious act.”
He said the museum had received no recent threats and that its staff “are in shock”.
The police had a “serious tip”, he added, amid reports that a bystander had given the police the car’s registration number.
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Breaking News: One arrested in connection to Brussels
Nazi or Muzzie?
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Three people were killed on-site and another fatally wounded when a gunman attacked the Jewish Museum in the center of Brussels on Saturday, authorities said.
"Two women and one man are dead, a third person is in hospital," Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said at the scene, shortly after the attack. "We don't yet know if they were tourists or staff, they haven't been identified."
Asked whether she believed it was an anti-Semitic attack, she said it was too early to say as a police and judicial inquiry was under way but that given the target "there are strong grounds for presuming so."
Reports said the driver has been picked up within three hours of the shooting, which took place at around 4 pm (1400 GMT). There was no confirmation from police.
A bystander, Alain Sobotik, told AFP he saw the corpses of a young woman and a man just inside the doors of the museum.
A picture shows them lying in pools of blood.
Later Saturday, authorities announced that a suspect has been arrested. The injured victim was announced dead late Saturday, just before 11 pm Israel time.
"A person left the scene in their vehicle. We have identified and arrested them. But we do not know if they have a link to the events," a prosecution spokeswoman told a news conference, adding that the person was being "heard as a suspect."
The attack comes on the eve of elections in Belgium for a new federal government as well as for its regional parliaments and the European Parliament.
Crime or terror?
A Jewish community figure, Joel Rubinfeld, told AFP it clearly "is a terrorist act" after two men were seen driving up and double-parking outside the museum.
The gunman opened fire, allegedly shooting indiscriminately before getting away.
Rubinfeld, who heads the country's anti-Semitic League, said the act was the result of "a climate of hate."
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders was at the scene shortly after the attack, and told reporters that the two other victims had been shot inside the museum. "I hope we will identify those responsible very quickly," he said.
Reynders said he had been nearby when he saw people fleeing and heard shots and rushed to help. When he saw "bodies on the ground in pools of blood" he called the 112 emergency number and rounded up eye-witnesses to assist the police.
Police quickly cordoned off the area.
"I am shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish museum, I am thinking of the victims I saw there and their families," Reynders said on Twitter.
The Jewish Museum of Belgium, which was not answering calls, is located in the heart of the Sablon district which is home to the city's top antique dealers. It is a popular weekend haunt for shoppers and holidayers, hosting the city's best chocolate shops and many cafes.
The head of Belgium's Jewish Consistory told La Libre that "it is probably a terrorist act. For us it is an extremely serious act."
He said the museum had received no recent threats and that its staff "are in shock".
Milquet said the government had moved to increase protection at Jewish buildings as well as the Israeli embassy.
Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo also expressed that he was "very shocked" by the attack.
"All Belgians are united and show solidarity in the face of this odious attack on a Jewish cultural site," he added.
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Antisemitic shooting in Brussels
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...fire-fled.html
Gunmen shoot 4, killing three, at a Jewish museum in Belgium.
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A suspected anti-Semitic terrorist and his accomplice were still on the run today following a triple murder at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
Two Israeli tourists were among those gunned down in the atrocity, which is being linked with similar crimes carried out by Al-Qaeda linked Islamic radicals.
One man has been arrested, and remains in custody, but he is not thought to have a direct link with the actual killings.
Two men were seen pulling up outside the museum in an Audi car just before 4pm, before one took out a weapon from black bag.
He immediately targeted staff and visitors inside the museum, firing bullets into their faces and necks. None of the victims have yet been named.
An official working for the Israeli Foreign Ministry today said: ‘A couple in their fifties from Tel Aviv were among the victims.
'We trust that the Belgian authorities, including the judicial authorities and the police, will be able to shed light on this terrible crime.’
One of the men responsible was seen running away, while the second is thought to have got away in the car.
Its number plate was written down by a witness who alerted police, but the man arrested is not thought to be the getaway driver.
He remains in custody but his legal status has been downgraded from ‘suspect’ to ‘witness.’
Horrific pictures have been released of victims lying in pools of blood, while CCTV footage is also being studied by the police.
A police spokesman said: ‘Bodies were left lying on the ground inside and outside the building. There was blood everywhere and people were screaming.’
The victims were reported to be two women and one man. Another man is seriously wounded.
A suspect was arrested and was being questioned last night by security officials.
The attacker was seen jumping into an Audi after the shootings by a witness who made a note of the number plate. The car was stopped by police shortly afterwards.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, who was nearby at the time and heard the gunfire, was among the first to reach the scene.
He said he was ‘shocked’ by the killings, but added: ‘There were a lot of witnesses and the investigation is moving fast.’
Confirming that it was an ‘undoubted terrorist attack’, Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said: ‘It’s not a coincidence the target was a Jewish museum.’
Eyewitness Alain Sobotik revealed he saw two bodies in the lobby of the museum.
‘One was a young woman with her head covered in blood. She was holding a leaflet and looked like a tourist,’ he added.
Around a dozen other visitors to the museum were caught up in the carnage, suffering minor injuries and severe shock.
Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo expressed his condolences and support for the victims' families.
Anti-Semitic attacks have become all too common in Europe over recent years, with Islamic radicals often behind them.
Maurice Sosnowski, President of the Coordination Centre of Jewish organisations in Belgium, said that this one, if confirmed, would be 'the worst anti-Jewish attack in Brussels since the Second World War.'
The Brussels museum highlights the suffering of Jews who were murdered, tortured and imprisoned during the Nazi Holocaust.
In 2012 a French-Algerian anti-Semitic fanatic called Mohamed Merah gunned down seven people in and around the south western city of Toulouse before being killed in a shootout with police.
Among the victims of the 23-year-old Al-Qaeda supporter were three Jewish children and a rabbi who were murdered infront of their schools.
In the face of such savagery, security groups have launched numerous clamp-downs on extremists, including in cities like Belgium, which has a large Muslim population.