Two police officers from the Brussels-West zone shot an unregistered 29 year old Ghanaian immigrant in the thorax 5 times. The incident happened in the cellar of a building in rue de la Colonne in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean on the 18th of April, a little before 8am, La Dernière Heure reported on Thursday. The Brussels Prosecutor’s office has confirmed that two attempted murder cases have been opened, one against the officers and one against the immigrant. The latter is charged with assaulting an officer and armed resistance. His life is still in danger. There was an arrest warrant issued for him after he tried to flee. In the case against the officers, they have not yet been charged so they have not been arrested.
A reconstruction of the incident will be organised. The young man’s lawyer has said that his client will launch a civil case against the officers.
A home owner called the police as an unregistered immigrant was living in his cellar. The immigrant had been there for around a year. The first two officers were repeatedly punched by the man in question, who also armed himself with a screwdriver. The second patrol called for reinforcements. They said he had a knife and had thrown a pan of boiling water at them before attacking them. One or two shots were fired. According to the officers, the young man then started towards them again, so they fired two or three more times.
They were briefly questioned on the night of the incident. The victim denies being violent, but said he had grabbed a knife as he was scared. He only remembers three shots. On conditional parole, he did not respect his obligation to remain at the hospital and was therefore placed under arrest. Police are guarding his door at the hospital.
(Source: Belga)
