Three people were killed today when gunfire was opened outside the Jewish Museum in Brussels, Belgium. Another person was critically injured in the incident and 12 are described as panic victims.
According to Belgian media reports, a gunman arrived at the museum at around 3:50 PM local time carrying a bag on his back, opened fire and fled in a car.
A few hours later, Belgian authorities claimed that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the incident, but it is still unclear whether he was involved in the shooting or in assisting the shooter. The suspect was taken in for questioning.
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Belgian Interior Minister Joel Milke said she believes the motive for the shooting was hatred of Jews: "Everything indicates that this was an anti-Semitic attack.".
The mayor of Brussels called the incident an act of terrorism and also hinted at a connection between the location and the background: "The fact that the shooting took place in the Jewish Museum is not a coincidence.".
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said he was shocked by the attack. "I heard a burst of gunshots, I rushed here and saw the bodies lying on the ground," he said.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, who was near the museum at the time of the shooting, said, "I am shocked by the murder near the Jewish Museum. My heart goes out to the victims I saw at the scene and to their families.".
However, the Brussels police issued a statement stating that the shooting killed two women and a man who were passing by, and that they believe the shooters did not intend to harm the Jewish Museum, but rather were settling scores amid wars between crime families in the area.
Eyewitnesses who were at the scene described a squad of two shooters who opened fire on passersby. "A vehicle stopped near the museum, from which two gunmen got out and began spraying at the people who were there. The killers fled.""
The Jewish community in Belgium declared a state of emergency and reinforced police forces were sent to secure the community's institutions.
