A man arrested by the Brussels Anti-Aggression Brigade (BAA) shortly after allegedly committing a hold-up on Friday evening has been charged with armed robbery with violence or threats.
The male suspect entered a telecommunications store on Avenue de la Toison d’Or in Ixelles at approximately 6:30 pm on Friday, just as staff prepared to close for the day. Threatening the employees with a firearm, he ordered them to take him to the back of the store where he insisted that they open the safe. He then fled with his haul of stolen smartphones.
A nearby BAA patrol was informed of the incident via radio. The police officers received a description of the suspect and spotted him exiting a building where we had stashed his loot.
The police gave chase on foot and apprehended the suspect. A search of the building he had entered revealed a bag containing the stolen smartphones and the firearm. Upon his person, police found a bladed weapon, a glass-breaking hammer, four smartphones and a parcel of marijuana.
The suspect had been flagged in relation to two other cases, and was out on bail. He was handed over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brussels, which presented him before an examining magistrate.
The magistrate issued a warrant for the suspect on charges of robbery with the use of violence or threats, and with a weapon.
