J-C. N., the driver of a suspicious vehicle intercepted on Tuesday evening in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, has been placed under observation in a psychiatric hospital. The decision was taken following a psychiatric examination he underwent earlier in the day after making incoherent statements and behaving in an unbalanced manner during questioning.
The tests showed that his state corresponded to the conditions of the law of June 26, 1990 on the protection of mentally ill persons, the Office of the Brussels Prosecutor stated on Wednesday.
At about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, police in the Midi Zone pursued a vehicle that had run at least one red light in Anderlecht. The driver refused to comply with the instructions of the police and ran into a first police car. The law enforcers then fired shots at the wheels of the vehicle to try to stop it. However, the driver continued driving on the Ninove road to Molenbeek before slamming into a second police car.
Around 5.30 p.m., the vehicle was finally stopped and the driver taken in for questioning by the Brussels-West police. A safety perimeter was set up on the Ninove Road between the Gare de l’Ouest and Dilbeek Street after the suspect told police his vehicle contained explosives. The explosive ordnance disposal unit, SEDEE, went to the scene, but found nothing abnormal in the suspect’s car.
The suspect, J-C. N., is a man of Rwandan origin born on June 6, 1981. He lived in Belgium until 2009, when he moved to Germany. He has no criminal record in either country.
The Brussels Times
