Police have reportedly shot dead a suspected gunman who killed two people before an international football match in Brussels.
Belgium’s interior minister Annelies Verlinden told VRT radio “we have the good news that we found the individual”.
The weapon believed to have been used in the fatal shootings before Belgium‘s match with Sweden on Monday night has been recovered, she said.
“We are checking fingerprints to be 100% sure,” she continued, adding the suspect was in intensive care in hospital.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF later reported the suspected attacker had died.
He has been named by Belgian media as Abdesalem L – a 45-year-old Tunisian national.
The fatal shootings caused Belgium’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden to be abandoned at half-time.
Fans were also kept in the stadium as armed officers searched for the suspected attacker.
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The two people killed were Swedish – and a third person was wounded in the attack.
The terror alert in Brussels has been raised to the highest level, with an increased police presence in force, and people have been warned to be extra vigilant and avoid any unnecessary travel.
Read more: What we know about Brussels shooting
The shootings took place about three miles (5km) from the 50,000-seater King Baudouin Stadium shortly after 7pm local time – around 45 minutes before kick-off.
Shortly after, a man who claimed to be the gunman appeared on social media in a video in which he claimed to be a member of Islamic State (IS) and a “fighter for Allah”.
He also claimed he had carried out the attack in “revenge in the name of Muslims”.
One Belgium newspaper said a witness heard the gunman shout “Allahu Akbar” – “God is great” in Arabic – before the shots were fired.
Another video, reported to be of the incident, which has not been verified by Sky News, showed a gunman in a fluorescent orange jacket and a white helmet chasing a man into a building before shooting at him.
The suspect unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium in November 2019, justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told reporters. He was known to police over people smuggling and illegal residence in the country.
He was reportedly shot during a police operation in the Schaerbeek area of the city on Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office told reporters the investigation was focusing on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting”.
Sweden has in recent months faced rioting following a string of Koran-burning incidents in both the country itself and in neighbouring Denmark.
Muslim leaders in Sweden have called on the government to find ways to stop the Koran burnings, but police have allowed them, citing freedom of speech.
