This Tuesday the spokesperson for Brussels’ Prosecutors Office, Laurens Dumont, confirmed that police had to intervene at a location close to Place Flagey in Ixelles, at 1:00 am on Tuesday morning to arrest a man who had locked himself in his apartment on Rue Dautzenberg. The man had not taken any hostages. The suspect was very slightly injured during the operation. The prosecutor has declined to comment. The police were called by residents of the building at around 7:00 pm, said Ilse Van De Keere, spokesperson for the Brussels-Capital-Ixelles police division, on Monday. The area was cordoned off and Federal Police special branch were called to the scene.
On Monday evening at around 11:30 pm, the spokesperson for Brussels’ Prosecutors Office stated that contact had first been made with the suspect via the building entrance intercom and then via GSM. According to the daily La Dernière Heure, which the suspect had contacted to claim that he had hostages with him, he asked to speak to his wife and said that he was doing this because of his recent dismissal and because his wife and kids had moved out of the family apartment.
He linked this event to a previous incident dating back to July 9th when the 37-year-old man locked himself in his apartment with his wife and his 1-year-old daughter. After the event, his spouse had stated that he had not threatened her, confirming that she had not been taken hostage. The man eventually surrendered to the police and was discharged after his hearing.
(Source: Belga)
