2023 Brussels shooting
The 2023 Brussels shooting was an Islamist terrorist attack carried out at about 19:15 (CEST) on 16 October when Abdesalem Lassoued, a 45-year-old Tunisian living illegally in Brussels, Belgium, opened fire on Swedish football supporters at the intersection of two boulevards just off the Square Sainctelette, leaving two dead and one injured. The victims were on their way to a football match at the King Baudouin Stadium.
| 2023 Brussels shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of terrorist activity in Belgium | |
Temporary memorial for the Swedish football supporters on the site of the attack | |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°51′29″N 4°20′47″E |
| Date | 16 October 2023 19:15 CEST (UTC+2) |
| Target | Swedes |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Weapons | AR-15–style rifle |
| Deaths | 3 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrator | Abdesalem Lassoued |
Lassoued fled the scene, and soon after a video was posted on social media in which he claimed responsibility for the attack. The Belgian federal prosecutor immediately concentrated its investigation on a terrorist motive. The following morning, Lassoued was tracked down to a café in the Schaerbeek municipality where he was shot by Belgian police and died on the way to hospital. Following the attack, the terror threat level for Brussels was raised from 2 to 4, the highest level. In the rest of Belgium, it was raised from level 2 to 3. After Lassoued's death, Brussels was lowered to level 3, the same as the rest of the country.
Four days after the attack, Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne resigned after it emerged that an extradition request by Tunisia for Lassoued in August 2022 had not been followed up by Belgian magistrates.