Man blows himself up at football field in Belgium
A man, reportedly wearing an explosive belt, has blown himself up at a football field in Verviers, Belgium, the local prosecutor’s office reported. The man was the only victim.
The man detonated explosives that were attached to him shortly after 8.30am on Tuesday, reported RTBF, citing the local prosecutor’s office. He was identified as a 65-year-old former soldier who lived nearby. Police found a key on his body and searched his house, but found no further trace of explosives. They did, however, find suicide notes.
One eyewitness reported seeing the man walk across the field, before there was a massive explosion.
“When I closed the door of my vehicle, I heard a big explosion, I saw pieces going up in the air and I thought it was an abnormal blast. I found that there was a person who blew himself up on the spot and I phoned directly to the Verviers police station,” he told RTBF.
[video] Getuige vertelt over wat er gebeurde op een voetbalveld in Verviers https://t.co/sgFH5YRdu4
— Roeland Roovers (@r0eland) July 31, 2018
Meanwhile, Mayor Hasan Aydin has all but ruled out terrorism as a motive. “Suicide seems plausible,” he told Sudinfo.be earlier in the day. “If he had wanted to do more damage, he would certainly have been in a place in town where there were more people.”
Police and investigators are still combing the field for evidence.
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