Terrorism inquiry into attack by prisoner on day release who was later shot dead by police

Belgian investigators have opened a terrorism inquiry after a prisoner on day release shot dead two police officers and a passerby in the centre of Liège before being killed in a shootout.

The man, named as Benjamin Herman, 31, approached the two female officers from behind and repeatedly slashed at them with a boxcutter, or Stanley knife, as they were checking parking meters on Tuesday morning.

He then took their service revolvers and shot them dead before turning his fire on a parked car and killing Cyriel Vangriecken, 22, a student at the University of Liège, who was in the passenger seat of his mother’s Ford Fiesta.

Philippe Dulieu, the prosecutor in Liège, said the assailant then walked to the Leonie de Waha school where he took a female cleaner hostage. “Police intervened, he came out firing on the police officers, wounding several, before he was killed,” Dulieu said. The pupils at the school had been evacuated by staff via a back door.

Two counter-terrorism officers were shot in the leg, leaving one seriously injured, and two police officers from the judicial brigade were hit in the arm.

The Liège police chief, Christian Beaupère, said: “The goal of the attacker was to target the police … It was aimed at the state of Belgium. Four policemen were injured and taken to the hospital. One of them has already left the hospital, while another has a severe injury to the femoral artery. He is in a dangerous condition.”

Belgium remains on high alert after a string of attacks including twin suicide bombings in Brussels in 2016 claimed by Islamic State.

Witnesses said the attacker in Liège was dressed in black and was carrying a rucksack. Footage aired by the Belgian broadcaster RTBF showed him chanting “Allahu Akbar” – God is greatest, in Arabic – as he walked through the city.

One witness, who was in an office overlooking the scene, told the French broadcaster LCI that the assailant could be clearly heard. He said: “He shot everything that moved. But people did not know what was going on at first. The white Ford Fiesta stopped. The passenger was shot close up.

“My cleaning lady shouted an insult at him. I threw objects down to knock him out, but I didn’t hit him. He looked around and fixed his weapon.”

The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, said Herman had been indirectly mentioned in state security reports on radicalisation but he was not on a watchlist. “Different services considered that, based on the elements they had, there was no reason to give him such a qualification,” he said.

Michel described the attacks as “cowardly and blind violence”. He tweeted: “All our support for the victims and their loved ones. We are following the situation with the security services and the crisis centre.”

Herman, who was serving a 17-year sentence in Marche prison for drugs and theft convictions, was given 36 hours’ leave on Monday evening to stay with his grandmother in the town of On, near Marche-en-Famenne.

Since being imprisoned in 2003 he had completed 11 one-day release permits and 13 two-day periods of leave without problems. Investigators are examining whether he could have been radicalised in jail.

The justice minister, Koen Geens, said the attacker was a repeat offender who had been due for release in two years’ time. “At the moment there is very little consistent we can say about [radicalisation]”, he said. “In any case, he is not a clearcut case – on the contrary. He certainly was not someone who could clearly be qualified as radicalised. Otherwise he would have been known as such by all services.”

Local media linked Herman to the murder overnight of a heroin dealer, Michael Wilmet, 30, who had been released from prison a few months earlier, and the armed robbery of a jewellery store in his home town, Rochefort. A spokesman for the federal police declined to comment on the allegations.

Belgium’s threat-level rating has not been raised from “unlikely”.

The two murdered police officers were named as Lucile Garcia, 53, who had recently become a grandmother, and Soraya Belkacemi, 45, a mother to 13-year-old twins. Garcia was married last month to a fellow police officer, who was said to have been at the scene shortly after the shooting.

Theresa May said the UK stood “resolute with our Belgian allies against terror”. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, condemned the “terrible attack” and expressed the “solidarity of the French people”.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Social media footage captured the sound of gunshots

A man has shot dead two female police officers and a civilian in the eastern Belgian city of Liège.

The gunman also took a female cleaner hostage at a school before being killed by police. Four other police officers were also injured.

The man's motive is not yet clear but the incident is being treated as terrorism.

Police sources quoted in local media said the man was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic).

Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman was let out from prison on temporary release on Monday where he had been serving time on drug offences. It said that he may have been radicalised while in jail.

Liège mayor Willy Demeyer confirmed the deaths of the two female officers during a press conference and said that "physical and psychological support" would be provided to the families of the victims.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hearses arrived at the scene where the gunman shot dead two female officers

Mr Demeyer said it was an assault on the state of Belgium, adding: "Police were definitely the target of this attack.

"We will forever be at the side of the police officers."

Image copyright EPA Image caption A bomb squad was sent to the scene of the shooting in Liege, Belgium

Mr Demeyer added that "all flags on municipal buildings" were to be flown at half-mast, a book of condolences would be placed in the local town hall and a service would be held at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Wednesday to honour the victims.

What happened?

The shooting unfolded late morning on Tuesday near a cafe in the city centre.

Prosecutors said the man followed and "savagely" attacked the officers from behind with a knife before taking a gun from them and opening fire.

He also shot dead a 22-year-old man who was sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car as he walked in the direction of a nearby school, where he briefly took a member of staff hostage.

"The young man who was killed in the vehicle was a pupil of the high school in Liège, he was going to qualify as a primary school teacher in the next few weeks," Mr Demeyer said.

Armed police officers with shields, helmets and bulletproof vests then arrived at the scene and "intervened".

The attacker began firing at the officers in an attempt to escape. Two officers were shot in the leg, leaving one officer in a serious condition.

Two other officers received injuries to their arms before the attacker was shot dead, prosecutors said.

Footage on social media showed people running to safety as several gunshots rang out. Children at the school were moved to safety.

Liège city authorities later tweeted: "The children in the local schools are safe."

Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel said he was following the situation closely and expressed his support for those caught up in the shooting.

Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon said that investigators were trying to establish "exactly what happened", adding: "Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrible act."

What's the wider situation?

Belgium remains on alert after a series of jihadist attacks in the country and in neighbouring France.

A Brussels-based cell was involved in the 2015 Paris attacks which left 130 people dead in several locations.

Brussels itself saw three suicide bombings in March 2016, with 32 people killed. Both the Paris and Brussels attacks were claimed by the Islamic State-group.

Later in 2016 a man attacked two police officers with machetes while shouting "Allahu Akbar" before being shot dead.</s>Police officers responding to the scene of the shooting in central Liege, Belgium. MICHEL WILMET via REUTERS

Three people, including two police officers, have been shot dead by a gunman in eastern Belgium during a hostage situation on Tuesday morning.

The perpetrator has since been shot dead as well.

Police are treating the incident as a terrorism, the BBC reported, citing Belgian authorities.

Multiple shots were heard near rue des Augustins in downtown Liège around 10:30 a.m. local time.

Videos posted on social media showed police cars in the city centre as multiple gun shots rung out.

The suspect shot at two police officers near a cafe before running into a nearby school and taking a woman hostage, the RTL TV network reported. The hostage's condition remains unknown.

The gunman's third victim was a passenger in a car driving by at the time. It's not clear when or where the gunman shot at them.

Other police officers were injured in in a scuffle with the suspect, La Libre newspaper reported.

Emergency responders at the scene of the attack. Courtesy of VICTOR JAY/via REUTERS

The gunman shouted "Allahu akbar," an Arabic phrase that means "God is greatest," during the attack, a police source told La Libre.

Public broadcaster RTBF named the suspect as a 36-year-old Belgian who had been released from a nearby prison. He was serving time for drug offences and classified as "unstable," but was not a list of possible violent extremists.

Belgium has been on high alert since a domestic Islamic State cell killed 32 people in three coordinated suicide attacks in Brussels in March 2016. The same militants were also involved in attacks on Paris in November 2015 that killed 130 people.

The incident took place in Liège, a city in eastern Belgium. Google Maps/Business Insider</s>Brussels, May 29 (IANS) A man shot dead two police officers and a civilian before being gunned down by security officials in the Belgian city of Liège on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Philippe Dulieu said the assailant followed and attacked police officers with a knife, before taking a gun from them and opening fire. He then got into a vehicle parked nearby and killed a 22-year-old passenger, the BBC reported.

The gunman then fled to the nearby Waha secondary school and took a woman hostage, who was rescued unharmed. Police killed the assailant in a shoot-out that left two other officers injured, officials said.

Regional Governor Hervé Jamar said no students at the school were injured during the attack.

The man’s motive was not clear but the incident was being treated as terrorism. Police sources quoted in the local media said the man was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest” in Arabic).

Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman had only been released from prison on Monday. It said that he may have been radicalised while in jail.

Footage on the social media showed people running to safety as several gunshots rang out.

Belgium remains on alert after attacks in 2016 claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group left 32 people dead.

Later that year a man attacked two police officers with machetes while shouting “Allahu Akbar” before being shot dead.</s>BRUSSELS — A gunman was killed on Tuesday after he fatally shot two police officers and a civilian and then took a hostage at a school in the Belgian city of Liège, officials said. No students were injured.

Belgian prosecutors said they were investigating the attack in Liège, a provincial city of about 200,000 in eastern Belgium, as a terrorist incident.

The assailant, who has not been publicly identified, attacked two police officers from behind about 10:30 a.m. with a knife, stabbed them several times in the back, took their weapons, and used them to shoot and kill the officers, a prosecutor told a news conference.

He also shot and killed a young man sitting in a parked car near a cafe, Aux Augustins, in central Liège, before fleeing on foot. He then took a female cleaner hostage in the nearby Atheneum Léonie de Waha school, a public institution with several hundred students aged between 3 and 18.</s>BRUSSELS (AP) — A gunman killed three people, including two police officers, in the Belgian city of Liege on Tuesday, a city official said. Police later killed the attacker, and other officers were wounded in the shooting.

The motive for the attack wasn’t immediately clear. State broadcaster RTBF reported that it could be terror-related, citing unnamed police and fire officials. Belgium’s prime minister couldn’t confirm the report.

“Beyond the attacker, who was shot, there are three dead, two police officials and a passer-by,” Michel Firket from Liege city hall told The Associated Press.

State broadcaster RTBF reported that the shooting took place near a cafe on Liege’s Boulevard d’Avroy. A passenger in a car driving by was killed. Other police officers were wounded in the exchange of fire, Firket told the AP.

When asked about the report that the attack was terror-related, Firket said: “I know nothing formal about that. The police is doing its investigation. There are no formal conclusions.”

RTBF said the gunman fled the scene, taking a female cleaner hostage at a nearby school before he was shot.

A spokeswoman for the city mayor’s office, Laurence Comminette, told the AP that the children were all safe.

Speaking on Belgian television, Prime Minister Charles Michel said: “There was a serious incident.”

“The information so far is not clear yet,” he said. Michel was rushing to the crisis center to get more information.
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• Scientists turn to DNA technology in search for Loch Ness monster Video posted on Twitter by a person claiming to be a witness showed people running in the area. About six gunshots could be heard.

Belgian police and military have been on alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people at the Brussels airport and subway system in 2016.</s>BRUSSELS - A gunman killed two police officers and a passer-by on Tuesday before being himself shot dead in the center of the eastern Belgian city of Liege, public broadcaster RTBF said on its website.



Belgium's anti-terrorist crisis center was monitoring the situation, Interior Minister Jan Jambon said on Twitter. It was unclear, however, what lay behind the incident in which the man had also taken a woman hostage, according to RTBF.





Two other police officers had been injured, Belga news agency said. A spokeswoman for the Liege public prosecutors office confirmed that two police officers had been shot dead and the gunman "neutralized" but could not confirm other details.Images on social media showed people scurrying for safety on Liege's central boulevard d'Avroy with shots and sirens being heard in the background. One video showed two police in body armor moving into position.Liege, an industrial city close to the German border in the French-speaking Wallonia region, was also the scene of a shooting in 2011, when a gunman killed four people and wounded over 100 before turning the gun on himself.Belgium has been on high alert since a Brussels-based Islamic State cell was involved in attacks on Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people and Brussels in 2016 in which 32 died.</s>The incident occurred at around 10:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. ET) when an assailant stabbed two policemen from behind before stealing their service weapons and using them on the officers, Liege Prosecutor Philippe Dulieu said at a news conference on Tuesday.

After killing the two police officers, the attacker continued walking through the street and opened fire on a parked vehicle, fatally wounding the driver inside, Dulieu added.

According to the prosecutor, the suspect then took refuge in a local high school where he held a woman hostage. When police intervened, the man opened fire, injuring several other officers, before he was shot dead.

It is not yet clear what the attacker's motive may have been, a spokesperson from the Liege prosecutor's office told CNN earlier.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he and the government send their thoughts to the victims and their families. The Belgian Royal Palace also tweeted its sympathies following the shooting. "Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrible act. Courage to their loved ones," the tweet read. According to CNN affiliate VTM, Michel and King Philippe of Belgium are on their way to Liege. Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said on Twitter that the country's crisis center had been monitoring the situation. The crisis center said that the students in the school were safe and that none had been injured. A police officer speaks with parents of children at a nearby high school. Liege resident Didier Deflem filmed a video allegedly showing special intervention police units shooting at the Liege attacker in front of the Waha high school. Deflem told CNN: "Police made us enter the building to protect us. The PAB (Peloton anti-banditisme, a special intervention unit of the city of Liege) intervened. The man wanted to run out and he was shot down. That's all I saw. We're still in shock." Pierre Etienne Dit Pave, who teaches French language classes nearby, told CNN he was first alerted to the attack by a "commotion in the street" and went out to investigate. "At one point a policeman told me to go inside. I went back to the classroom and locked the door for a while," he said. "We heard a lot of shots. We didn't see anything because we were locked in the room. We were waiting for police to give us the clearing." In this grab made from a video obtained on the Twitter account of Victor Jay (@victorj_fr), police and emergency vehicles block a nearby crossroads. Liege is Belgium's third-largest city, after Brussels and Antwerp, according to the national tourist office. For centuries, it has been an important cultural and industrial center for the country. In 2011, Liege was the scene of a grenade and gun attack that left at least 5 dead and injured more than 100.</s>Have your say

A gunman shot dead two police officers and a bystander in the eastern city of Liege, according to reports in Belgium.

Two other people are said to have been wounded in the incident.

State broadcaster RTBF said the shooting happened on Tuesday near a cafe on the Boulevard d’Avroy.

The gunman fled the scene, taking a cleaning woman hostage at a nearby school, but he was later “neutralised”, RTBF reported, quoting police and fire services.

There was no immediate indication that the incident was terror-related.

Video posted on Twitter by a person claiming to be a witness showed people running in the area. About six gunshots could be heard.

Belgian police and military have been on alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people at the Brussels airport and subway system in 2016.</s>LIEGE, Belgium – A knife-wielding man stabbed two police officers Tuesday in the Belgian city of Liege, stole their weapons and shot them and a bystander dead in an attack that prosecutors fear could be terror-related.

The man, who was later killed by police, approached two police officers from behind carrying a knife and stabbed them several times, said Philippe Dulieu, spokesman for the Liege prosecutor’s office.

“He then took their weapons. He used the weapons on the officers, who died,” Dulieu told reporters.

Dulieu said the attacker then shot dead a 22-year-old man in a vehicle parked nearby, and took a woman hostage in a school close to where the shooting took place outside a city cafe.

“Liege police intervened. He came out firing at police, wounding a number of them, notably in the legs. He was shot dead,” the spokesman said.

A senior official at the federal prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press that “there are indications it could be a terror attack.”

Despite this, Belgium’s crisis center said it saw no reason to raise the country’s terror threat alert for now.

When asked about the report that the attack was terror-related, Liege city hall Michel Firket told the AP: “I know nothing formal about that. The police is doing its investigation. There are no formal conclusions.”

A spokeswoman for the city mayor’s office, Laurence Comminette, told the AP that the children at the school were all safe.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said only that “there was a serious incident.” He was rushing to the crisis center to get more information.

Yves Stevens of Belgium’s federal crisis center said that security in Liege is now under control, and that there was no reason yet to raise the national terror threat level.

“There is absolutely no confirmation yet that the incident is terror-related,” Stevens told the AP.

Video posted on Twitter by a person claiming to be a witness showed people running in the area. About six gunshots could be heard.

Belgian police and military have been on alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people at the Brussels airport and subway system in 2016.
Three people, including two police officers, are killed in Liège, Belgium, and four police officers are injured in a shooting. The gunman took a woman hostage, but was later killed by police.