A suspected Tunisian extremist accused of shooting and killing two Swedish soccer fans in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday, has been in Europe since 2011, according to Italian government and security sources.
On Tuesday morning, police in Belgium shot and killed the suspect, a 45-year-old man who posted a video on social media claiming to be the assailant and member of the Islamic State.
The two victims left a private party early, where they were watching the Belgium-Sweden soccer match.
A supporter is comforted on the stands after suspension of the Euro 2024 group F qualifying soccer match between Belgium and Sweden at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Monday. The match ended at halftime, after two Swedes were killed in a shooting in central Brussels before kickoff. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
The suspect allegedly pursued the two soccer fans along a Brussels street, shot them, and fled the scene, prompting an hourslong manhunt, authorities said.
Police ultimately found the man in the Schaerbeek neighborhood, where the shooting took place, according to federal prosecutors.
The assailant was a Tunisian man living illegally in Belgium who used a military weapon to kill the two Swedes and shoot a third victim, who is being treated for “severe injuries,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference on Monday night.
2 SWEDES SHOT DEAD IN BELGIAN CAPITAL, AUTHORITIES SAY
Police and inspectors work in an area where a shooting took place in the center of Brussels, Monday. Belgian police say that two people are dead in central Brussels after several shots were fired. (AP Photo/Nicolas Landemard)
One of the Italian sources who told Reuters the man had been living in Europe since 2011 confirmed he spent time in Italy before moving to Sweden.
While in Sweden, the source said, he was expelled under the European Union’s “Dublin” rules, then returned to Italy.
ISRAEL FENDS OFF AGGRESSION AT LEBANON BORDER AS IT PREPARES TO INVADE GAZA
Police cordon off an area where a shooting took place in the center of Brussels, Monday. (AP Photo/Nicolas Landemard)
In 2016, law enforcement officials in Bologna, Italy marked the man as being at risk of Islamic radicalization, which meant he would be observed by intelligence agencies, despite not having a significant criminal record. Italian authorities then lost track of the suspect.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
That year, Brussels, Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said, Belgian authorities received an unconfirmed report from a foreign police agency saying the suspect had a “radicalized profile,” and was ready to wage jihad in a warzone.
Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard and Louis Casiano, as well as Reuters, contributed to this report.
