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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: 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.