The Tunisian man who killed two Swedish football fans and injured another in Brussels on Monday night had arrived in Europe by boat more than a decade ago and had been living in Belgium without legal status, according to media reports.
A revenge attack for Koran burnings
The shooter, identified as Abdesalem Lassoued, 45, claimed to be a member of Islamic State and said he carried out the attack to avenge Muslims who were offended by a series of Koran burnings in Sweden. He posted a video online shortly after the shooting, in which he said he wanted to “bring war to your homes”.
Lassoued opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at a group of Swedish fans who were celebrating outside a bar near the Grand Place in central Brussels. The fans were in the city to watch a Euro 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The victims were named as Erik Johansson, 32, and Jonas Andersson, 29, both from Stockholm. A third man, Oskar Nilsson, 28, was wounded in the leg and taken to hospital.
A long journey from Tunisia to Belgium
Lassoued had reportedly left his home country of Tunisia in 2011, following the Arab Spring uprising that toppled the authoritarian regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He was among thousands of migrants who crossed the Mediterranean Sea on overcrowded boats and reached the Italian island of Lampedusa.
He then moved around Europe, living in Italy, France and Sweden, where he was deported after serving a prison sentence for drug trafficking. He eventually settled in Brussels, where he lived in an apartment in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood, about 10 minutes away from the scene of the shooting.
He had been subject to expulsion orders from several countries, but had managed to evade authorities and stay in Europe illegally. He was known to Belgian security services for his radicalisation and had been under surveillance for some time.
A manhunt that ended in a shootout
After the shooting, Lassoued fled the scene on foot and remained at large for several hours. He was tracked down by police on Tuesday morning outside a café in Schaerbeek, where he had taken refuge.
He refused to surrender and opened fire at the officers, who returned fire and killed him. No police officers or bystanders were injured in the exchange of gunfire.
The terror threat level in Brussels was raised to its highest level after the shooting and remained high on Tuesday. Police cordoned off the area where the shooting took place and searched Lassoued’s apartment for evidence. They also reinforced security at locations linked to Swedish interests, such as the embassy and retail spaces.
A shock and a grief for two nations
The shooting shocked and saddened both Belgium and Sweden, which expressed their solidarity and condolences to each other. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the attack was an act of “madness terrorism” that targeted innocent people who came to enjoy a football match.
He also admitted that deportation orders must be better enforced and that people who are not entitled to protection should leave the territory. “When we tell you to leave, you need to leave,” he said. “When two people die, the only thing you can say is that things have gone wrong.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he did not blame Belgian authorities for their failure to send Lassoued back to his country of origin, because Sweden had the same problem with many people who refused to leave after being declined asylum.
He also condemned the attack as an attempt to undermine democracy and freedom. “We will never accept that terrorists try to silence us or scare us away from our values,” he said.
The families and friends of the victims were offered support and assistance by both governments. The Swedish football association said it was deeply saddened by the tragedy and expressed its sympathy to the bereaved. The Belgian football association said it would hold a minute of silence before its next match as a tribute to the victims.
