Nine teenagers were arrested on Friday evening in Anderlecht on the suspicion of plotting an attack on a police station, Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Monday.
The information was confirmed by Brussels-South police. The young boys, most of which are minors, were in possession of Molotov cocktails, police have stated.
The teenagers were apprehended around midnight at the Jacques Brel metro station, around 100 metres from the police station on Démosthène Street in Anderlecht. The group was in possession of Molotov cocktails, fire accelerants, weapons and balaclavas. The youngest member of the suspects is 12 years old and the oldest recently turned 18.
Investigators say it is clear that they were on their way to the police station to attack it.
There had been calls on social media to gather at Jacques Brel metro station to protest after a French police officer killed a 17-year-old boy of North African descent during a traffic stop. The nine suspects have been handed over to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.
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Since the death of 17-year-old Nahel in France, who was shot by police, unrest has erupted across France. To a lesser extent, Brussels and Liège have witnessed similar confrontations between young men (often minors) of ethnic minorities and police.
On Thursday, small incidents occurred in the Belgian capital where police intercepted 64 people. On Friday and Saturday, there were still 101 and 35 young people remanded in custody respectively.
