Two Swedish nationals were killed and a third person was injured in a shooting in Brussels on October 16, 2023. The victims were in the Belgian capital for a football match between Belgium and Sweden.
Belgian authorities identified the attacker as Abdesalem Lassoued, a 45-year-old Tunisian national. He was later shot by police and died from his injuries. Authorities said he had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State in a video released before the attack.
Belgian prosecutors later disclosed that Lassoued had escaped from a prison in Tunisia in 2011. He had been sentenced in Tunisia in 2005 to more than 26 years in prison for crimes including attempted murder. After escaping, he traveled to Europe and eventually settled in Belgium.
Tunisian authorities had requested Lassoued's extradition from Belgium. Belgian authorities received the request in August 2022, but it was not processed before the shooting. The handling of the request led Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne to resign after the attack, describing the failure as a serious administrative error.
Lassoued had previously applied for asylum in Belgium, but his application was rejected. He had also spent time in other European countries and had encountered law enforcement authorities before the Brussels attack.
The shooting prompted Belgium to raise the terrorist threat level in Brussels to its highest category. A Belgium-Sweden football match being played nearby was suspended, and thousands of spectators remained inside the stadium while authorities conducted security operations.
The attack subsequently prompted investigations into Lassoued's contacts and movements across Europe. Belgian authorities continued examining whether other individuals had assisted him in obtaining the weapon used in the shooting.
