Following Saturday’s tragic attack in Brussels that killed four people, including two Israelis on vacation, Belgian authorities have now labeled the attack a “terrorist assassination,” AFP reported.
A spokeswoman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, Wenke Roggen, told reporters at a news conference that officials have begun an investigation into the attack. Investigators have opened three inquiries, including terrorist assassination, attempted terrorist assassination, and an over examination of the attack.
Caught on surveillance cameras belonging to the Jewish museum where the attack occurred, police have determined the killer was “a man killing in cold blood…with great determination,” Roggen stated.
“These facts combined with the fact that the shooting lasted less than a minute and a half leads us to think there may be a terrorist motive,” she added.
Local authorities in Brussels have transferred the investigation to federal authorities due to “the identity and nationality of the victims.” Tel Aviv natives Miriam and Emmanuel Riva, a 24-year-old Belgian museum employee, and a French volunteer have been identified as those murdered in the vicious attack.
All of the victims were hit by bullets in the face and neck in a targeted strike. Security camera footage shows the gunman, wearing a hat and sunglasses, walk up the entrance of the museum with a duffel bag. The gunman removed a Kalashnikov-style automatic rifle from the bag and is shown shooting through the doorway of the museum before hastily leaving the scene.
The gunman approaching the museum
However, what is most chilling about the attack, are reported emerging from Belgian media claiming that the gunman wore a portable video camera on his chest, filming the attack. Source close to the investigation, on condition of anonymity, informed several news sites that the attacker is seen wearing a GoPro brand camera.
The gunman running from the scene
“The priority of priorities is to find this man. He must be arrested and stopped,” Belgian Home Affairs Minister Joelle Milquet said. “We must reassure members of the Jewish community.”
The attack occurred on the eve of national and European Parliament elections which led officials to raise anti-terror security measures of Jewish sites throughout all of Europe. All of Belgium’s Jewish institutions, including schools and synagogues, are now being protected 24/7 by police.
Deputy prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch has reached out the public to help find the shooter. “We call on the whole population to help identify this person,” she said.
