Two children were rushed to hospital suffering from gunshot wounds after an altercation in their home in Dison by Verviers. The hospital described their conditions as life-threatening.
The two children, both aged under 12, were at home in their apartment with their father and another man, said to be a relative, according to the mayor of Dison, Véronique Bonni. They were rushed to hospital in Verviers, then transferred to another hospital in Liege due to the gravity of their condition. Another child present in the apartment at the time of the shooting was unharmed.
It remains unclear how and why the shots came to be fired. “For the time being I have no information on the number of shots or the condition of the children,” according to a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office. “We also don’t know if this was a voluntary act or not.” Police searching the house found a number of firearms, none of them registered. However the prosecutor’s office said there was no indication of a terrorist connection. A ballistics expert was at the scene to help clarify what happened.
The two men were arrested and interviewed yesterday. The results of that questioning have yet to be announced.
UPDATE: The two children are now reported to be out of danger, the hospital in Liege said. It has now become clear that the children’s father himself fired the shots, the prosecutor’s office said. He claims it was an accident. The father remains in custody in connection with the illegal possession of firearms, while the second man, the children’s uncle, has been questioned and released without charge.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
