Fears of copycat in Belgium after man arrested trying to drive car into crowd
BELGIAN police have arrested a man who allegedly drove into a crowd and was later found to have knives and a gun in his car.
BELGIAN authorities have tightened security in the port city of Antwerp after a man drove his car at high speed through a busy shopping area, forcing pedestrians to jump out of the way.
French President Francois Hollande compared the incident to the attack in London that left three people dead, saying the driver was “trying to kill people or create a dramatic event.”
The driver was identified as 39-year-old Mohamed R, a Tunisian holding French residency papers who lived in France.
The federal prosecutor’s office said the car was intercepted on Thursday morning at the port docks where Mohamed R was arrested.
In the car, authorities found knives, a shotgun and a gas can with an unknown liquid. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
An official said the suspect “was under the influence” but refused to elaborate whether it was drugs or alcohol.
The incident jangled nerves following attacks at Orly Airport in Paris and London, and coming the day after the first anniversary of the Brussels suicide bombings that killed 32 people.
“A vehicle with French plates has tried to drive at high speed into the Meir (shopping street) so that pedestrians had to jump aside,” Antwerp police chief Serge Muyters told a news conference.
“Our army colleagues forced the driver to stop but he pulled away and ran a red traffic light. We sent a special forces team and the car and the driver were stopped. A man in camouflage was taken away.”
Images on social media showed investigators searching a burgundy-coloured vehicle near the bank of the Scheldt river.
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said the suspect was driving at “very high speed” and that “at different times pedestrians were placed in danger.”
“Different arms were found in the boot, bladed weapons, a pump-action rifle and a container of as yet unidentified liquid,” the prosecutor said in a statement. Bomb disposal experts attended the scene.
At first sight, the incident appeared to have the hallmarks of several extremist attacks in Europe — a vehicle in a busy area bent on mowing down pedestrians.
Trucks were used last year in deadly attacks in Nice and Berlin, and an SUV was used in London, where three people died in a rampage close to the British Parliament. The attacker was shot dead by police.
The office said “because of these elements, and the events in London yesterday, the case is being taken on by the federal prosecutor’s office,” which usually deals with extremist attacks.
Prime Minister Charles Michel said “we remain vigilant. Our security services have done excellent work.”
Meir is the main commercial street in Antwerp’s historic centre and is mostly pedestrianised. It is one of the country’s biggest shopping areas.
The Antwerp incident put Europe further on edge after the attack on the British parliament killed three people plus the attacker.
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