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© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Police shoot dead suspected extremist accused of killing 2 Swedish soccer fans on a Brussels street
By SYLVAIN PLAZY, RAF CASERT and LORNE COOK BRUSSELS©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Blacklabel
Finally a correct usage of the concept of someone being an “extremist” from the media.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Got 'em. Best for all concerned.
Haaa Nemui
This here
is a massive failure.
kaimycahl
The best part of this story was the EXTREMIST was eliminated!! Sad the two other lost their lives!
Fighto!
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.
Harry_Gatto
So, why wasn't he shot, or at least arrested, at that time?
WA4TKG
Too little, too late
gcFd1
Please extinguish this extremism.
Randy Johnson
Why isn't labled a hate crime?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Yeah, the only missing part in this tale is that it is not a US citizen involved.
Toblerone
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.
kaimycahl
@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.*
TaiwanIsNotChina
Nobody believes that we should stop keeping Ukraine from being enslaved to keep a single AR-15 out of the hands of terrorists.
TaiwanIsNotChina
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.
Sven Asai
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.
kurisupisu
US weapons in the hands of a radical being used to kill people in Belgium is extremely relevant!
2020hindsights
fatrainfallingintheforest
Yes.
JJE
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.
JJE
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.
JJE
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.
JJE
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.
JJE
I wonder where he got that "military weapon" he used?
One can guess.