Abdessalem Lassoued, the suspected perpetrator of the terror attack in Brussels on Monday night, was spotted in Brussels just an hour and a half after the attack, according to Walloon newspaper Sudinfo, but was not approached by police. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christian democrat/CD&V) confirmed that the decision was taken not to intervene at that time out of concerns for the safety of officers and worries they were too few to apprehend the suspect.
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Brussels terror attack suspect spotted just hours after attack; officers ordered not to intervene (VIDEO)
Colin Clapson
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According to Sudinfo, on Monday evening two officers observed the suspected perpetrator of the deadly shooting at Sainctelette Square only a few hours after the attack. The news outlet says the officers were not given permission to intervene, however, because there were only two of them and it was not certain that the person they had spotted was the wanted Tunisian Abdessalem Lassoued.
Minister Verlinden has confirmed this account. "The operational leadership of that intervention decided, based on the context at the time, not to allow an intervention. Firstly, for the sake of the safety of the police officers involved. At that time there was also no guarantee that they could stop the suspect."
Minister Verlinden says she has no reason to doubt that assessment. "I have full confidence in our police forces. The operational leadership took the right decisions at every moment to ensure that the suspect could be stopped."
According to Minister Verlinden, "it may have been a consideration" that two heavily equipped policemen were not very mobile and had difficulty following a target undetected. Moreover, the man moved around on a scooter, and was therefore much more mobile," she told parliament on Wednesday.
"Finally, you have to be careful if you want to stop someone. That needs to be very well prepared and the area has to be cordoned off to ensure police safety."
The perpetrator eventually managed to escape from sight until he was shot by police at a café in Schaarbeek (Brussels) on Tuesday morning.
