Belgian gunman kills 2 in court
Source: Agencies |
June 4, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A LONE gunman killed a magistrate and a clerk in a Brussels courthouse yesterday, then fled on foot, setting off a manhunt in the center of the Belgian capital.
Officials were unable to give any details about the gunman's identity or a possible motive for the slayings, which took place at 11:23am as the gunman attended a morning hearing.
"He was present at the outset of the hearing," said Jean-Marc Meilleur, the spokesman for the Brussels prosecutors office. "Toward the end of the session, he pulled a gun. Shots were fired, after which the killer fled."
Meilleur said "the gunman did not speak" and, after he rose, took careful aim at the judge and the clerk. Six hours after the killings, the gunman remained at large.
The courtroom was almost empty at the time of the shooting. Apart from the gunman and the two victims, three lawyers and a spectator were in the room, said Meilleur.
Belgian media identified the dead magistrate as Isabelle Brandon and her clerk as Andre Bellemans, a justice of the peace, who hears minor civil cases often involving quarreling neighbors or minor rent and credit disputes.
The slayings showed the need for much stricter security in Belgian courthouses, Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck said.
Security at justice of the peace hearings is minimal to narrow the divide between the public and the judiciary.
Yves Oschinksky, head of the Brussels bar for French-speaking lawyers, called the double killing "a serious blow."
Officials were unable to give any details about the gunman's identity or a possible motive for the slayings, which took place at 11:23am as the gunman attended a morning hearing.
"He was present at the outset of the hearing," said Jean-Marc Meilleur, the spokesman for the Brussels prosecutors office. "Toward the end of the session, he pulled a gun. Shots were fired, after which the killer fled."
Meilleur said "the gunman did not speak" and, after he rose, took careful aim at the judge and the clerk. Six hours after the killings, the gunman remained at large.
The courtroom was almost empty at the time of the shooting. Apart from the gunman and the two victims, three lawyers and a spectator were in the room, said Meilleur.
Belgian media identified the dead magistrate as Isabelle Brandon and her clerk as Andre Bellemans, a justice of the peace, who hears minor civil cases often involving quarreling neighbors or minor rent and credit disputes.
The slayings showed the need for much stricter security in Belgian courthouses, Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck said.
Security at justice of the peace hearings is minimal to narrow the divide between the public and the judiciary.
Yves Oschinksky, head of the Brussels bar for French-speaking lawyers, called the double killing "a serious blow."
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