Three police cars were set on fire near the central police station in the Brussels municipality of Ixelles, the Brussels Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Monday following initial media reports.
The incident took place at around 3:51 a.m. on Monday near the police station on Rue du Collège.
Officers in a patrol car in the immediate vicinity witnessed the incident and were able to intervene immediately. Firefighters were called to the scene to extinguish the fire.
The police had already extinguished the fire with fire extinguishers by the time the Fire Brigade arrived on the scene, according to Brussels Fire Brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw. "We limited ourselves to checking that it was properly extinguished," he added.
The suspect was reportedly arrested shortly after on a nearby street, on Rue du Viaduc in Ixelles.
The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into arson and has requested the Federal Judicial Police laboratory and a fire expert to carry out the necessary investigations at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing.
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This article was updated at 6:11 p.m.
