Japan Today
world

Police shoot dead suspected extremist accused of killing 2 Swedish soccer fans on a Brussels street

25 Comments
By SYLVAIN PLAZY, RAF CASERT and LORNE COOK

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.


25 Comments
Login to comment

Finally a correct usage of the concept of someone being an “extremist” from the media.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Got 'em. Best for all concerned.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

This here

Information provided to the Belgian authorities by an unidentified foreign government suggested that the man had been radicalized and intended to travel abroad to fight in a holy war. But the Belgian authorities were not able to establish this, so he was never listed as dangerous.

is a massive failure.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

The best part of this story was the EXTREMIST was eliminated!! Sad the two other lost their lives!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I wonder where he got that "military weapon" he used?

One can guess.

Almost certainly on the black market. Nothing more complex than that. Most weapons - even military issue - can be obtained in most places for the right money.

Anyway - good news this extremist has been dealt with.

Rest in Peace to the innocent Swedish victims.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

He was known to police and had been suspected of involvement of human trafficking, living illegally in Belgium and of being a risk to state security.

So, why wasn't he shot, or at least arrested, at that time?

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Too little, too late

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Please extinguish this extremism.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Why isn't labled a hate crime?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

kurisupisuToday 06:42 am JST

US weapons in the hands of a radical being used to kill people in Belgium is extremely relevant!

Yeah, the only missing part in this tale is that it is not a US citizen involved.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Maybe if he had been left alone, this would not have happened?

Youre soo right, its those nasty Belgians fault. If only theyd left the poor terrorist alone.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

@JJE A lot to say but very contradicting. First you posted "But now this guy had a shiny new US military assault rifle". But you also ask "Where on earth could this weapon have come from after manufacture and shipping? I get your point, but if I was to sell apples to a foreign country and they in turn sold the apples to another country where perhaps they became tainted and people died from eating them then who is responsible? Do you blame the growers or do you blame the end using country for negligence. Its all about control its not where something came from its where it at!!!

Even more odd, every terror attack of this nature in western Europe going back years has involved Kalashnikov-pattern weapons of mid-east, north Africa, Balkan or eastern Europe origin. Paris-Hedbo attacks etc etc etc.

But now this guy had a shiny new US military assault rifle.

*The illegal arms trade black market doesn't exist in a vacuum. It requires regions with an abundance of arms, loose oversight and corruption - and in this case - access to the particular, unique type of weapon in significant quantities.*

*Manufactured stateside, sent abroad to (insert country with End User Certificate here), smuggled to by means of ___ and ended up in his hands.*

*Fill in blanks** - what was the chain of custody? Where on earth could this weapon have come from after manufacture and shipping?*

*These are complex questions need to be answered - the victims deserve nothing less.*

0 ( +1 / -1 )

JJEOct. 17 08:04 pm JST

Nobody believes that we should stop keeping Ukraine from being enslaved to keep a single AR-15 out of the hands of terrorists.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

JJEToday 04:48 am JST

TaiwanIsNotChinaToday  03:21 am JST

No one said that or even mentioned that country, which is not being enslaved.

The simple fact is that there are many more weapons floating around out there now and we all know where from and why.

The bizarre point you make is you think there are circumstances in which terrorists receiving arms is perfectly fine.

I strongly disagree. Most rational people would disagree.

If your point is that we should stop fighting wars or change our foreign policy due to a single AR-15, most rational people where I am would disagree. You may be in a country with less fortitude for this kind of stuff.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

And now what? One dead, 100 newly come in, and the big family or surrounding of him gets angry and more radical for the next some generations too. It's necessary to act, but don't always sell it a success.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

US weapons in the hands of a radical being used to kill people in Belgium is extremely relevant!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

fatrainfallingintheforest

I wonder what the circumstances of the police encounter were. All I've seen, on AP, is that "(p)olice arrived at the scene and the suspect was shot as they tried to arrest him." Did the suspect fire at them?

Yes.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Viewing all the videos, including the actual shooting, it appears he was armed with an AR-15/M4 carbine pattern rifle. The relevant Wikipedia page also lists that.

We know a huge amount of these types have been sent to Europe recently. Hopefully the serial number on the receiver can be traced so the origin can be established. The investigation is far from finished.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

TaiwanIsNotChinaToday  03:21 am JST

No one said that or even mentioned that country, which is not being enslaved.

The simple fact is that there are many more weapons floating around out there now and we all know where from and why.

The bizarre point you make is you think there are circumstances in which terrorists receiving arms is perfectly fine.

I strongly disagree. Most rational people would disagree.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Even more odd, every terror attack of this nature in western Europe going back years has involved Kalashnikov-pattern weapons of mid-east, north Africa, Balkan or eastern Europe origin. Paris-Hedbo attacks etc etc etc.

But now this guy had a shiny new US military assault rifle.

The illegal arms trade black market doesn't exist in a vacuum. It requires regions with an abundance of arms, loose oversight and corruption - and in this case - access to the particular, unique type of weapon in significant quantities.

Manufactured stateside, sent abroad to (insert country with End User Certificate here), smuggled to by means of ___ and ended up in his hands.

Fill in blanks - what was the chain of custody? Where on earth could this weapon have come from after manufacture and shipping?

These are complex questions need to be answered - the victims deserve nothing less.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

kaimycahlToday  09:36 pm JST

Nothing was contradictory. Wanting to know how a western (in this case US) supplied military grade weapon ended up in the hands of a terrorist is quite a reasonable inquiry.

And that means establishing the chain of custody and how this occurred. A sensible start would be where the weapon was originally shipped to.

It's clearly more complex than just asserting it magically popped up on the arms black market.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

I wonder where he got that "military weapon" he used?

One can guess.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites