Four people were injured Wednesday night in Brussels after a shooting in the heart of the Belgian capital near the European Parliament with a female member of the Swedish European People’s Party (EPP) delegation among the wounded.
The shooting happened in the Porte de Namur shopping district outside a local Apple shop at around 7:30 p.m., according to official statements. One of those shot suffered critical injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital. The gunman swiftly left the scene as onlookers took refuge in an adjacent retail store.
Police were quick to cordon off the district and ruled out terrorism as a motivation for the attack. An EPP spokesmanperson confirmed to Politico that their employee was recovering from their wounds.
The name or the professional background of the thirty-year-old Swede has so far not been given though she is believed to be affiliated with the centrist Moderate Party. An official police statement ruled out the possibility of more than one attacker.
Brussels has been plagued by a rising tide of narco-crime and terrorism in recent years. In October, an IS-inspired Tunisian illegal immigrant killed two Swedish football fans. In the wake of the October terrorist attack, Belgium’s Minister of Justice resigned, taking responsibility for failures in the nation’s lax refugee admission policy.
Local mayor Christos Doulkeridis blamed last night’s attack on an “urban gang” issue rather than terrorism. While the gunman is understood to be still at large, Brussels city centre returned to normal for the Thursday morning commute with public transport largely not distributed during the attack.
