Two Swedes were shot and a third injured after a gunman attacked them in Belgium on Oct. 16.

Update: On Oct. 17, a man identified as the attack was shot and killed by Belgian police. This article has been updated to reflect the new information.

Qualifiers

The Swedes were likely in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, in order to attend the Belgium-Sweden Euro 2024 football competition qualifier, held the same day.

According to the BBC, citing a spokesperson for Belgium's federal prosecutor, a video on social media showed a man claiming to be the attacker.

That man said he was inspired by Islamic State, the terrorist group that controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria in the mid-2010s.

The BBC also cited an unverified video shared by Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that showed the attacker apparently wielding an assault rifle, wearing a fluorescent orange jacket, as well as arriving and escaping on a scooter.

The attack happened at around 7PM Belgium time (1AM Singapore time), and as of time of writing, the gunman is still at large.

Belgian premier Alexander De Croo sent his condolences to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson after the attack, calling the attack "cowardly". 

I have just offered my sincere condolences to @SwedishPM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones.

As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one.

— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) October 16, 2023

My deepest condolences to the relatives of this cowardly attack in Brussels.

I am closely following the situation, together with the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs from @CrisiscenterBE

We are monitoring the situation and ask the people of Brussels to be vigilant.

— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) October 16, 2023

On Oct. 17 1o.08 am Belgian time (4.08 pm Singapore time), Belgian interior minister Annelies Verlinden shared on social media that a man had been identified as the attacker and had died.

Dader terreuraanslag Brussel werd geïdentificeerd en is overleden. Onze dank aan de inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten en het parket voor hun snel en kordaat optreden afgelopen nacht en deze ochtend.

— Annelies Verlinden (@AnneliesVl) October 17, 2023

Reuters reports that the man was shot by Belgian police in a cafe, and identified him as a 45 year-old Tunisian.

Match abandoned

ESPN reported a spokesperson for Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said that the Swedish nationality of the victims was "put forward as the probable motive" for the shooting, with the BBC further noting that the victims were wearing Swedish national team jerseys at the time.

The ESPN report also quoted the spokesperson as saying that there was no link at the moment to events in Israel and Gaza at the time, but the report also said that Sweden had raised its terror alert level to its second highest level. The BBC said that Belgium had raised its terror alert to the highest level.

Fans attending the Belgium-Sweden match were kept in the stadium for their safety, with officials saying they believed that the stadium to be the "safest place they could be at the time".

News of the shooting reached the stadium at half time, where the scores were level, and the Swedish team refused to return to the pitch, leading to the match being abandoned.

The move appeared to be supported by the fans in the stadium, with ESPN reporting that fans of both nations chanting "All together, all together", as well as "Sweden, Sweden".

SWEDEN BELGIUM SUPPORTS YOU pic.twitter.com/Z6Uxv7oR3u

— LukaKouille (@gazoulasaumur) October 16, 2023

Other attacks

This attack comes after a teacher was stabbed in France on Oct. 13, in what appeared to be a religiously motivated incident.

It also comes after a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed to death by his 71-year-old landlord on Oct. 16, who also attacked the boy's mother.

The Guardian reported that the man, named as Joseph Czuba, attacked the mother and child with a knife, shouting "You Muslims must die!"

CNN reported that investigators believed that Czuba had targeted the family due to their religion, as well as the current conflict in Israel and Gaza, with the the mother, Hanaan Shahin, saying that Czuba had confronted her about the events of Israel and Gaza in the days leading up to the attack.

United States President Joe Biden condemned the attack, saying that Americans must "come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred".

As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate.

We must be unequivocal.

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 16, 2023

Biden had warned on Oct. 10 about the possibility of hate crimes committed in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, saying that "there was no place for hatred" in the U.S., whether against Jews or Muslims.

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Top image via @gazoulasaumur/x & @Irlkickmoments/X