Police hunt for gunman in Belgium shootings
Print Edition
BELGIAN police hunted down a gunman yesterday who shot dead three people including two Israelis in an attack on the Brussels Jewish Museum reviving fears of a fresh wave of anti-Semitism in Europe.
The first attack against a Jewish target in Belgium for more than 30 years came as the country headed into a crucial general election and as a mammoth European ballot involving 400 million voters wound up.
“An election day is usually a celebration of democracy. Today it is clouded,” said Belgium’s premier Elio Di Rupo. “It is in everyone’s mind.”
“In Belgium we are not accustomed to such acts of barbarity.”
Welcoming Pope Francis in the Holy Land, Israel’s premier Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the pontiff for his “determined stance against anti-Semitism, especially in light of the growing hatred of Jews that we are witness to in these days.”
Deputy public prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch confirmed two Israelis were among the fatalities as well as a French woman. A fourth critically injured person was Belgian, she said.
Police had not been able to identify the gunman, who “probably” acted alone, she said, and was “well prepared and well armed.” A picture of the suspect will be released to the public shortly.
Saying there was no claim so far, she also said “I cannot confirm that it is a terrorist or anti-Semitic act” and added that “all leads remain open.”
But French President Francois Hollande, during a visit to soutwhestern France to vote in European elections, said there was no doubt about the “anti-Semitic character” of the attack.
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