Brussels police were on Monday night hunting a suspected terrorist who shot dead two Swedish football fans to “avenge Muslims”.
The shooting came as Belgium were hosting Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifying match on Monday evening.
The gunman was at large after the shooting, and was reportedly headed towards the King Baudouin national stadium.
Federal prosecutors said the gunman claimed to be inspired by Islamic State and may have been deliberately targeting Swedish nationals.
Earlier on Monday, the alleged terrorist, using the name Slayem Slouma, shared a social media post about a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy stabbed 26 times in Chicago.
Amid tension over Gaza, the alleged gunman wrote on Facebook that if the boy was Christian “it would have been called terrorism and not a brutal crime”.
The suspect was known to Belgium’s security services because of an apparent radicalisation before the attack, Belgian newspaper Sudinfo reported on Monday night.
He was later identified at Abdesalem L, 45, by the Belgian federal prosecutors’ office.