A man has shot dead two police officers and a civilian in the eastern Belgian city of Liège.
The gunman took a female cleaner hostage at a school before being killed by police. Two other police officers were also injured.
The man's motive is not yet clear but the incident is being treated as terrorism.
Police sources quoted in local media said the man was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic).
Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman was let out from prison on temporary release on Monday where he had been serving time on drug offenses. It said that he may have been radicalised while in jail.
The shooting unfolded late morning on Tuesday near a cafe in the city centre.
Update: 16:56 UTC
More recent reporting states:
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/29/europe/liege-shooting-intl/index.html
The incident occurred at around 10:30 a.m. when an assailant stabbed two policewomen from behind, before stealing their service weapons and using them on the officers, Liege Prosecutor Philippe Dulieu said at a news conference on Tuesday.
After killing the two officers, the attacker continued walking through the street and opened fire on a parked vehicle, fatally wounding the driver inside, Dulieu added.
The gunman also killed a 22-year-old male car passenger on the Boulevard d'Avory, before taking a female cleaner hostage at a nearby high school.
She was released when police shot dead the attacker, who has been named by local media as Belgian national Benjamin Herman.
See also, thanks to C0lo:
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 29 2018, @03:44PM (16 children)
So, uhhhhhh - dude walks up to TWO cops, STABS THEM BOTH, then takes their guns from them, and finally shoots them both.
I'm thinking something like Darwin Awards here . . . WTF didn't either one of them shoot this shitbag before he got within range to cut them? The sumbitch screaming "Allahu Akbar" should have tipped them off, after all, even without the knife in hand.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday May 29 2018, @05:08PM (7 children)
You describe a stupid scenario and then your first question is "Were they stupid"?
Didn't it cross your mind that a more rational explanation is likely [sky.com]?
Warning - Linked to Belgian language content [lalibre.be] - an video clip confirms the killer cried "Allahu Abkar" - not clear if before killing the two policewomen or after, the video does not show the two police officers killed (of I'm not mistaken, the clip contains the noise of small gun shots - if true, this would mean it happened after).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 29 2018, @05:17PM (6 children)
You've heard the term, "situational awareness"? That term is what keeps a motorcyclist alive, when all the 4-wheelers on the road seem intent on murdering him. These cops? They allowed a nut case to sneak up on them? I still ask, WTF?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday May 29 2018, @06:04PM (1 child)
Yeah, right, I get it. You a living in a perpetual state of war.
Or on a motorcycle at full speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 29 2018, @06:18PM
Nonono, padded walls. Why he gets internet privileges is beyond me.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 29 2018, @07:39PM
How is that working out for you in the US, asshole? 1500+/yr police deadly shootings?
60 years old and still a fucking idiot..
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday May 29 2018, @07:52PM
Everyone gets lulled into complacency by the general state of peace and the everyday. People form habits and patterns based on those realities, and attackers recognize that and exploit it.
Even when individuals have been specifically trained to react as you describe, and they find themselves in a situation where those skills are called upon 24/7 they can still fail to act appropriately. They fail at surprisingly high rates. What was the statistic from WWII, only 15-20% of the soldiers aimed to kill?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by tftp on Tuesday May 29 2018, @08:37PM (1 child)
In a dense city a killer can approach nearly anyone. Perhaps the officers should not be close to others... unless they were ordered to patrol there. Also consider this:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 30 2018, @07:59AM
When coming from behind, it's probably easier to walk casually than running.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday May 29 2018, @05:15PM (5 children)
Perhaps he didn't call out until he had stabbed both of the policewomen from behind, at which time they were possibly unable to prevent him taking the weapons. After all, if you are lying on the ground dying then holding on to your weapon might not be your top priority.
Watch many films, do you? Of course, we all know that in the movies the heroine would have fought back valiantly and despite being fatally wounded, she would have subdued and arrested the assailant.
Unfortunately real life isn't always like that.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 29 2018, @05:25PM
We have the most relevant facts already. Nut case approached two cops, and took them out. This resembles a classic Native American ambush. A dozen soldiers, gazing into their campfire, while the Indians sneak into position. If/when the soldiers finally sense something out of place, they are blinded by the campfire, and can't see into the darkness.
You wait for more facts. There is a reason why cops often work in pairs - they're supposed to watch each other's backs.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 29 2018, @05:40PM (3 children)
The gun could be used to finish you off. Alternately, you could use it to stop the attack.
I think much of the problem is "policewomen". Why did we decide that this is sane? There should be physical standards unlikely to be passed by women and by anybody over the age of 40.
As a starting point: the physical requirements that the US Marine Corps sets for males under the age of 30.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday May 30 2018, @12:13AM (1 child)
Why would you want to treat your police like an occupying army?
I live in a country where the police do not even routinely carry guns, and as a result the general public trust them.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday May 30 2018, @06:13PM
... the demographics are different, and demographics are destiny, so ...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday May 30 2018, @12:35AM
Why should we value high physical standards over competence and integrity? As PartTimeZombie noted, sure, you need some sort of physical standard, but you don't need one so onerous that only the young and stupid can pass it. That defeats the purpose of having a police department.
There's plenty wrong with police around the world, but one of them is not being so fit that one can drop them in the middle of a combat zone.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 29 2018, @06:24PM
don't be a douche. they were probably walking the beat in the ice cream district or some shit. they didn't know a wanna-be goat fucker would sneak up and stab them.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday May 30 2018, @05:04PM
once upon a time, a cop searching my vehicle for drugs (just crossed the border from holland to germany, going a happy 100mph on a black audi a3 might have helped being noticed) was half a meter from me, giving me his back, the holstered gun clearly in sight. I was like WTF how are you even alive, until I reasoned it could be an empty gun, that would quickly sort out the criminal from the ordinary citizen. It was after 2001 IIRC but before the kebab invasion.
Account abandoned.