Averted attack?
Armed man arrested near Miss Belgium party
An attack was probably avoided on Saturday in De Panne, where an armed man was arrested near the theater which hosted the Miss Belgium 2023 election in the evening.
Published
The first arrivals for the event scheduled for 8:30 p.m. were prohibited from entering the theater until the police could inspect the premises.
AFP
Around 5.30 p.m. on Saturday, a man in his forties was arrested in possession of a firearm “very close” to the theater in La Panne, on the Belgian coast, where the Miss Belgium 2023 election was organized, Eric van der Sijpt, spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, told AFP. Another firearm was later discovered in his car, according to the spokesperson. “We are not saying anything at this stage about the motivations, that will be the subject of the investigation”, but “we probably avoided an attack”, added Eric van der Sijpt, according to whom hundreds of people were expected for this event.
The first arrivals for the event scheduled for 8:30 p.m. were barred from entering the theater until the police could inspect the premises, the Belga agency reported. The ceremony was nevertheless able to take place, starting about an hour late.
According to Flemish media, the suspect drove a rental car from the province of Limburg (east) where he resides. A person close to him would have warned the police, allowing the arrest.
(AFP)