Islamic terrorism seems to be motivation for a shooting attack in Liege that left three dead.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
A man shouting “Allahu Akbar” shot three people to death, including two police officers, in the Belgian city of Liege on Tuesday, a city official said. Police killed the attacker.
A number of officers were wounded in an exchange of fire.
“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.
RTBF said the shooting took place near a cafe on Liege’s Boulevard d’Avroy. A passenger in a passing car was killed.
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.”
According to some reports, the shooter shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great” in Arabic) during the attack. The phrase is often used by Muslim terrorists during attacks.
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 AP that the children were all safe.
Speaking on Belgian television, Prime Minister Charles Michel stated: “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.
A video posted on Twitter by a person claiming to be a witness showed people running from 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.
Belgium has also been the target of several Islamic terror attacks in recent years.