On Saturday afternoon, a woman was shot dead on the street in the popular seaside resort of Ostend (West Flanders). It happened in the Brusselstraat, close to the city centre. The area around the Brusselstraat was cordoned off by the police. According to the public prosecutor's office, the investigation is in full swing, and investigators are examining numerous CCTV images. The perpetrator, who fled to Bruges station in a taxi, is on the run and is being tracked down.
The bullet hit the victim in the heart and the woman died despite attempts to resuscitate her.
It is unclear exactly what happened, though there is a lot of speculation the shooting is linked to drug-dealing in a nearby park. A weapons expert, a forensic doctor and an investigating judge all attended the scene to try to determine the circumstances.
VRT’s Caroline Van den Berghe spoke to a witness who saw everything unfold before his eyes. ‘He says he saw the woman running after the perpetrator. As she was chasing him, she shouted “call the police”. The perpetrator then turned around and shot her at close range.’
According to Van den Berghe, attempts were made to resuscitate the victim, but to no avail. ‘The witness was deeply shaken. He happens to know the woman well, as she lives in his street.’ According to the public prosecutor's office, the victim was a 43-year-old woman from Ostend.
It is not yet clear why the woman was chasing the man. Had he stolen something, or was there another reason? ‘We don't know,’ says Caroline Van den Berghe.
The perpetrator is believed to be a man aged between 25 and 30 and is known to the police. ‘He took a taxi to Bruges station, as the driver was unaware of what the man had done earlier,’ says Van den Berghe. 'The police were on the man's trail, because they pulled the taxi over, but the suspect had already absconded. The perpetrator is still on the run but is being actively sought.'