A lone gunman killed one police officer and wounded another on Thursday in a knife attack that two Belgian judicial officials said was suspiciously linked to terrorism. The suspect was shot and taken to a hospital. Erik Van der Sypt, of the federal prosecutor’s office, told The Associated Press that the suspect was wounded by another officer after the stabbing. Van der Sypt added that investigators suspect the attack took place in a “terrorist context”. The prosecutor’s office told the AP that it took over the case because there is a “suspicion of a terrorist attack.” “One of our patrols was attacked by a man armed with a knife,” police said, according to Le Soir newspaper. “The two officers then called for backup. An officer from another patrol used his firearm to subdue the assailant.” “The two injured detectives and the assailant were taken to hospital,” police added. Le Soir said one of the officers was stabbed in the neck and died of his injuries. Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reported that the suspect had gone to a police station on Thursday morning warning that he would kill a police officer. Police union ACV said in a Facebook post that it had information that a person had gone to police earlier in the day threatening to attack. He added that judicial authorities did not arrest him. According to Belgian media, the attacker shouted “Allahu akbar”, the Arabic phrase for “God is great”, during the attack, which took place around 7:15 p.m. Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croix posted a message of condolence to the family and friends of the dead officer. “Our police officers risk their lives every day to ensure the safety of our citizens,” he said. “Today’s tragedy proves it once again.” Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said she was in contact with the mayor of Brussels, the police chief and security services to coordinate the response to the attack. “Such violence against our people is unacceptable,” he said. Belgium has been hit by several terrorist attacks in the past decade, including the 2016 suicide bombings that killed 32 people and injured hundreds more in the Brussels metro and airport.
