It has emerged that the man armed with a knife who was overpowered on Monday near the prime minister’s office in the Wetstraat was earlier involved in an attack on a security guard at the US embassy in Brussels. Public prosecutors have now asked for the man, who caused quite a stir in Belgium’s political nerve centre this week, to undergo a psychiatric examination.
‘The suspect was previously involved in an incident in April 2024, when he tried to attack a security guard at the entrance of the US embassy in Brussels with a knife,’ the Brussels public prosecutor's office says.
The 29-year-old suspect walked towards the entrance of the PM’s office on 16 Wetstraat at around 10am on Monday, where two members of the military police were on guard. ‘As he approached, he talked incoherently and drew a knife,’ says Yasmina Vanoverschelde of the Brussels prosecutor's office. ‘The military police quickly intervened. They convinced the suspect to put down the knife and made him surrender without further resistance. They were then able to overpower him. No one was injured in the incident.’
Brussels police subsequently took the suspect to hospital for a check-up, after which he was questioned. It has since emerged that the man was reported in connection with an earlier armed incident. ‘The suspect was previously involved in an incident in April 2024, in which he tried to attack a security guard at the entrance of the US embassy in Brussels with a knife. A criminal investigation was opened and the suspect was sectioned in a psychiatric hospital.’
Investigation centres on attempted murder
On Tuesday, the prosecutor appointed an investigating judge to investigate charges of attempted murder and illegal arms possession. ‘A psychiatric assessment has been requested. The suspect's motives remain unclear and that is part of the ongoing investigation.’