2023-10-27 11:04:04
On October 16, Brussels was hit by a new terrorist attack. Abdesalem Lassoued, a man of Tunisian origin claiming to be from the Islamic State, killed two Swedes with a gun before fleeing and finally being shot dead by the police.
The double homicide took place not far from downtown Brussels on a Monday evening after 7 p.m., before a football match between Belgium and Sweden at the King Baudouin stadium. The attacker shot dead two Swedish supporters with a weapon and injured a third before fleeing on a scooter.
The manhunt lasted around twelve hours, until the Tunisian was spotted on Tuesday at 7:37 a.m. by a witness in a café in the town of Schaerbeek, where he lived. During the police intervention “shots were fired and the suspect was shot dead”, the federal prosecutor’s office said. He was transferred to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:38 a.m.
I saw him following me with his scooter
Today, a taxi driver, who saw Abdesalem Lassoued shoot at his vehicle, spoke for the first time on RTL info.
On Monday, October 16, at 7:10 p.m., we could see in the images that the man had unpacked his weapon. It was then at the level of Boulevard Ninième de Ligne. A few minutes later, at the same location, at 7:14 p.m., the suspect pointed his gun at a taxi. He fired the first time and the vehicle started again. The assailant remained there and two gunshots were heard. Then he got back on his scooter.
“I took three Swedes in my vehicle and after 8 minutes of driving, I heard clashes on the right side of my car. I went out to see what had happened. I thought I had done a maneuver that did not please someone who had tried to hit my vehicle with stones. I then saw a man with a fluorescent vest. I saw weapons, and I saw his eyes ( those of Abdesalem Lassoued). I told myself that it was serious. I quickly closed the car and drove away.” says the taxi driver who transported the Swedish supporters shot dead by Abdesalem Lassoued.
Karim (not his real name) continues: “I heard him say Allah Akbar. It was unimaginable. I saw him following me with his scooter and then he shot at the other side of the car. I saw that someone was injured, “but I didn’t know if there were any deaths. I was shocked. I called the police saying that it was an attack and that we had to react.”
When I got home, I couldn’t speak
“I didn’t realize what was happening.”he testifies. “When he was following me on a scooter, he fired blindly. When I hid behind a car, he was shooting everywhere. When I called the police, I couldn’t speak. It was very difficult to find the words. Then, I fled. It was not possible to stay there because he was shooting blindly… I found a hole in my car seat.”
Karim returned to his emotions: “You don’t realize it. It’s something I never imagined. I was shocked. Lots of things happened in my head. I thought about my family, about the fact that I was going to die… . Why is he shooting? We don’t have time to think. I needed help and he was shooting at the same time. (…) Later, when I got home, I didn’t couldn’t speak. I was shocked. I couldn’t sleep. The images were in my head. I was still afraid of being followed or that someone would shoot at the doors of my house. If that’s okay arriving in a taxi, it can happen anywhere.”
The taxi driver explains that he now has to take medication “to try to get some sleep.” “I went to see the doctor, a psychologist, who tried to help me a little. When I’m alone, the images come back. What I experienced for 10 to 12 minutes, it comes back all the time. The shots, the face, his eyes… At one point, we could hear screaming, everyone was running everywhere. These things normally happen in films. Today, I’m trying to get up, but It’s hard. I realize I was very lucky that he missed me with his shots. I thought that Monday it was my last day.”
Very moved, Karim spoke of his family: “Luckily I’m still alive. You have to enjoy life, your family. Every day, maybe the last day. I have a second chance”, he concludes.
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