At the request of the Public Prosecutor, the police authorities have made contact with the Immigration Service to have the 33-year-old man suspected of two stabbings at a Colyrut store last Friday transferred to the detention centre in Vottem, with a view to his repatriation, indicated the Hal-Vilvorde Public Prosecutor on Tuesday. The investigating judge agreed the man could be released while nevertheless finding him guilty of assault and battery, residing illegally, and unlawfully carrying firearms. The initial findings of the investigation indicated that the victims had provoked him and he acted in self-defence.
The incident took place last Friday, just before the store was due to close. Police were called at around 8:45pm to a fight between a group of men. When they arrived, two men were lying injured on the ground. They were in a critical conditiona and were immediately taken to hospital.
The suspect, who had hidden in the toilets of the shop, gave himself up when the police found him. He showed them where he had hidden the knife with which he allegedly stabbed the victims. During questioning, he claimed that the two injured men had insulted and provoked him. On Saturday afternoon, the investigating judge reviewed his case and released the man. He has no criminal record.
(Source: Belga)
