Belgian police have launched a manhunt after two people wearing Swedish shirts were shot dead.
The shooting is said to have taken place near Ieperlaan, north of the city center and five kilometers from the King Baudouin Stadium, where the match will take place. The victims are two people wearing Swedish football shirts, according to the newspaper Het Laatste.
Videos purportedly of the incident circulating on social media show an armed man chasing a person into a building before gunshots are heard. The shooter is believed to have fled in a fluorescent orange jacket.
“I was completely shocked and immediately started screaming,” a witness told Het Laatste.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo responded to the shooting in a post on .
Mayor Philippe Close of Brussels also made a statement on the current situation: “After the shooting in Brussels, the police mobilized to secure the city and its surroundings, in collaboration with the Minister of the Interior,” he wrote in X for Twitter. “I am present in the crisis center to ensure coordination with Michel Goovaerts.”
On Monday afternoon, Belgium’s national crisis center raised its terror alert to the highest level, suspending the match between Belgium and Sweden at half-time.
The players reportedly refused to enter the field for the final 45 minutes, and an announcement on the stadium’s local audio read: “The players decided they did not want to continue the match because of what happened in Brussels today.”
All attendees were told that they were not allowed to leave the stadium for security reasons.
Source: Goal