The European Parliament was evacuated yesterday after a bomb scare forced the closure of three official buildings in the Belgian capital.
Police were alerted to three possible bomb sites, including the American Embassy and the Brussels Court House called the ‘Palace of Justice’, the Flanders News website reports.
Belgian police have detained a man near the European Parliament who was found to have a gun and a chainsaw in his car parked on Rue Montoyer, right next to the Parliament building and its administrative offices.
The evacuation was triggered at 11 am on Monday morning and police have since revealed they have detained a 32 year old Slovakian man dressed in camouflage near the European Parliament. The man told police officers he wanted to meet the European president. Witnesses say the suspect was carrying car keys which fitted a nearby car that police subsequently searched using a snigger dog. The bomb disposal unit DOVO was also called to the scene.
The Brussels public prosecutor demanded his arrest for possession weapons without a license and threatening an attack but a magistrate will decide if he remains in custody.
Belgian police have had to make dozens of interventions and arrests after the terror alert was raised two weeks ago, following a raid in Verviers where two suspected jihadists were shot dead and a third person arrested. Weapons were also recovered in the anti terror raid in the East of the country, officials said.
Prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt told reporters police had targeted a group returning from Syria who had been about to launch attacks in a matter of hours.
A spokesperson for the European Parliament said yesterday’s evacuations were a “precautionary measure” to allow police to examine and remove the car and detain the the suspect.
‘The three Parliament buildings that were evacuated are largely used for administrative purposes, housing the Parliament’s human resources, communication and training departments,’ they added.
In addition to the scenes at the European parliament, a man parked a car in front of the American embassy in Brussels, planning to flee the area immediately. The area was closed by police to allow for investigations but opened again after an hour.
The third bomb scare took place at the Brussels court house after a white can was parked opposite the headquarters. Sniffer dogs were deployed and alerted experts to the suspicion of explosives although a later search by an explosives unit could not find anything inside the van. It was only at around 1700hrs that police lifted the alert, meaning the proceedings in court were disrupted for the whole afternoon,
All three bomb alerts turned out to be false, but police warn that those found guilty of a bomb hoax will face harsh punishment.