Brussels, Belgium: Due to the shocking terror attack in Brussels that left two Swedish fans dead, the match between Belgium and Sweden in the Euro qualifying round has been suspended after the completion of first half. The players did not come to field due to security reasons.
On Monday night, a shooter started firing, leaving two people Swedish nationalists dead and one injured. The shooter fled after the attack, sparking a search for him throughout the Belgian capital. Later, the police declared that he had been shot to death.
The incident happened roughly three miles (five km) away from the venue where Sweden and Belgium were scheduled to play in a Euro 2024 qualifying match.
It occurred shortly after 7 o’clock local time, or about 45 minutes prior to kickoff, and it led to the game being abandoned at halftime. The King Baudouin Stadium was closed to more than 35,000 spectators as armed police hunted for the attacker.
According to a Belgian publication, the shooter was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”) before the shots were fired.
Another video purported to be of the incident claimed to show the shooter chasing a man inside a building before firing at him while wearing a white helmet and a fluorescent orange jacket.
Along with the two Swedes that died, a local taxi driver also suffered non-critical injuries. Shortly after the shooting, a guy who claimed to be the shooter made an online video appearance and identified himself as a member of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation.
In addition, he stated that the act was carried out in “revenge for the burning of the Holy Book of Muslims Quran in July 2023.”
