June 20 (UPI) — One suspect was shot by police in Belgium on Tuesday night after a small explosion at the main train station in Brussels, authorities said.
The Belgium Crisis Center posted on Twitter the “situation is under control” after the after the military “neutralized” the suspect. The wounded person’s condition and identity were not immediately known.
“There was a person who set off a bomb,” the station chief, Jean-Michel Michel, said to The New York Times.
A platform worker at the station said he heard a man shout “Allahu akbar”(“God is Great in Arabic”) before the blast and saw him try to enter an office carrying a rolling suitcase.
The unidentified suspect was wearing what appeared to be an explosive belt, several Belgian officials told ABC News. But authorities didn’t confirm the report.
A bomb squad was called in for fear of additional explosives in the area.
No fatalities or injuries were reported.
Arash Aazami told ABC News he heard two explosions and gunfire. While he hid in a restaurant, he said there was a heavy presence of military, ambulances and police.
Remy Bonnaffe told CNN he was inside the station when an explosion went off, followed by a fire. “The bang was very loud, it was like a very big firework that just went up in front of my nose,” he said. “The fire was very small. It was a very small explosion but a very loud bang.”
Since three coordinated suicide bombings at Brussels’ airport in Zavendem and at the Maalbeek Metro station left 34 dead in March 2016, the capital has been on high alert.
