Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting

Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting

The Jewish Museum of Belgium, pictured in 2009
Location Jewish Museum of Belgium
Brussels, Belgium
Date 24 May 2014 (2014-05-24)
15:50 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Attack type
 Shooting
Weapons
Deaths 4
Assailants Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
Suspected perpetrator
 Mehdi Nemmouche
Motive Antisemitism, extremist Islamist beliefs

On 24 May 2014, a gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, Belgium, killing four people. Three died at the scene; a fourth was taken to the hospital and died on 6 June. The attack is being investigated as terrorism by Belgian authorities.

On 30 May, Mehdi Nemmouche, a 29-year-old French national of Algerian origin, was arrested at Marseille in connection with the shooting. He is believed to have spent over a year in Syria and had links with radical Islamists.

Shooting

A man wearing a cap, carrying several bags and armed with a handgun and a Kalashnikov rifle arrived at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, near the Sablon in central Brussels, at around half past three.[1][2] He then opened fire, killing three people on site and critically wounding a fourth, who was soon taken to hospital.[3] He later died of his injuries on 6 June.[4] The attack lasted less than 90 seconds,[5] after which the shooter fled the scene on foot[1][6] and was partially captured by security cameras.[7] According to police, he headed into a different part of downtown Brussels before disappearing.[6] According to security camera footage, the attacker appeared to wear a baseball-type cap covering-up his head, and a chest-mounted camera, like Mohammed Merah, who filmed his acts during the 2012 Toulouse and Montauban shootings,[8] although it was stated that the camera failed during filming.[6][9]

The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Didier Reynders, happened to be in the vicinity of the museum and heard the gunshots. The Minister of the Interior, Joëlle Milquet, was also nearby and arrived on the scene a few minutes later.[10]

Victims

Four people were killed in the shooting. Two of the victims were Israelis, Emanuel and Miriam Riva, a middle-aged couple on holiday from Tel Aviv, while a French woman named Dominique Sabrier was the third victim.

A young Belgian man who worked at the museum, Alexandre Strens, was critically wounded[10] and eventually died of his wounds on 6 June. He was born in Morocco to a Jewish mother and Algerian Berber father, and his body was returned to Taza, Morocco, for burial in a Muslim cemetery.[11][12][13]

Investigation

A nationwide manhunt was launched for the attacker, who was described as being of medium height and athletic build, and wearing a dark baseball cap. His image, partly obscured, was captured on CCTV. A man who was seen driving from the museum was detained, but released after questioning, and remains a witness in the investigation.[14] Deputy prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch said the shooter "probably acted alone, was armed and well prepared." She stated that the motive for the attack was still "open".[15] The attack was being investigated as a terrorist incident.[16]

Suspect

Mehdi Nemmouche
Born Mehdi Nemmouche
(1985-04-17) 17 April 1985
Roubaix, France
Nationality French, Algerian
Religion Sunni Islam
Criminal charge Robbery (2007)
Murder (2014)
Criminal penalty 5 years imprisonment (2007)
Criminal status Awaiting trial
Allegiance Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
Motive Antisemitism, Islamism
Conviction(s) Robbery (2007)
Date apprehended
 30 May 2014

Mehdi Nemmouche (born 17 April 1985), a 29-year-old French national, was arrested on 30 May at the Saint-Charles railway station in Marseille in connection with the shooting. Nemmouche is suspected to have returned to France from fighting for Islamist rebels in the Syrian Civil War in 2013.[17] He appears to have recorded a video bearing the flag of the rebel group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.[18]

Nemmouche was born in Roubaix. His father abandoned his mother before he was born and he was raised primarily by his grandmother and in group homes. Prior to leaving for Syria, he already had a long criminal history, including arrests for armed robbery, vehicle theft, and vandalism. He reportedly told hostages in Syria he was planning an attack in Paris on Bastille Day.[19]

He had previously spent five years in prison where he is suspected to have been influenced by Islamic teachings. He left for Syria only three weeks after being released from prison in September 2012.[20] If proven guilty, he will be the first European volunteer in the Syrian war who committed attacks upon returning to Europe.[21] A number of items were recovered from a bag he was carrying while being detained, including a Kalashnikov rifle, a .38 Special revolver, nearly 330 rounds of ammunition for both weapons, gun parts, cameras, clothing, and a gas mask. A hidden file containing a 40-second video was discovered in one of the cameras; in it, Nemmouche's weapons are recorded and a voice, believed to belong to Nemmouche by police, claimed responsibility for the museum shooting in an audio commentary.[6][9] He was said to have had a white sheet emblazoned with the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[22]

Nemmouche, who has Algerian as well as French citizenship, resisted extradition to Belgium.[23] He has denied the charges against him.[24] On 29 July 2014, Nemmouche was extradited to Belgium.[25]

Analysis of a telephone call made by Abdelhamid Abaaoud established that he was in contact with Nemmouche during January 2014. Abaaoud was the ringleader of a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris that occurred on 13 November 2015.[26]

Reactions

Domestic

Government

Belgium's Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo condemned the attack. "In Belgium we are not accustomed to such acts of barbarity," he said.[10]

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, who arrived at the museum shortly after the shooting, wrote on Twitter: "Shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish Museum, my thoughts go to the victims that I saw on the site and their families".[27]

Minister of the Interior, Joëlle Milquet speculated that anti-Semitism might be behind the shootings and Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur described them as a likely terrorist attack.[28]

Belgian politician Mischaël Modrikamen, leader of a small conservative party and himself a member of Belgium's Jewish community, said "Sadly, however, the actual attack comes as no surprise to us after years of living in an atmosphere of rampant anti-Semitism that often leads to violence."[29]

Organizations

Joel Rubinfeld of the Belgian League Against Antisemitism described the act as "the inevitable result of a climate that distills hatred... it will be necessary to use all legal means to silence the preachers of this hate who are responsible for spreading this virus of anti-Jewish hatred", specifically mentioning the anti-Zionist and Holocaust-denying representative, Laurent Louis, and controversial Black French comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala.[30][31][32] Louis denied Rubinfeld's accusations, suggesting that the attack could have been a false flag operation seeking to discredit him and his political party, Debout Les Belges! (Rise Up, Belgians), on the eve of the Belgian federal elections.[33]

The League of Muslims in Belgium condemned the attack as "barbaric". In a statement the league said, "These crimes with racist and anti-Semitic accents are unfortunately likely to reverse in our country the efforts of all those who, on a daily basis, are working for a society where everyone, regardless of his religious and philosophical beliefs, can live in dignity and respect."[34]

International

Countries

Organizations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Casert, Raf (25 May 2014). "Belgium ramps up security for lone suspect in Jewish Museum attack". The Globe and the Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Fusillade au Musée juif de Bruxelles: un Français arrêté". Le Soir. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Report: Israeli couple among Brussels Jewish museum shooting victims". The Jerusalem Post. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Vierde slachtoffer aanslag Joods museum overleden". De Morgen. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Federaal parket gaat uit van terreuraanslag". Het Laatste Nieuws. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Captured Jewish Museum shooting suspect carried weapons, gas mask". Cnn.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  7. ↑ "Belgian police in appeal to public over gunman identity". BBC News Online. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Fusillade à Bruxelles: le parquet qualifie les faits de "terroristes"" [Shooting in Brussels: prosecutors call the acts "terrorism"]. La Libre (in French). 26 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Suspect in Jewish museum killings claimed responsibility in video". Foxnews.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  10. 1 2 3 "Belgian police hunt gunman after Jewish museum murders". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Fourth victim of Brussels Jewish Museum killings buried in Moroccan Muslim cemetery". Radio France Internationale. 2014-06-10. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  12. ↑ "Brussels Jewish Museum killings: Fourth victim dies". 6 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Morocco: 25-Year-Old Alexander Strens to be buried in Taza". The Moroccan Times. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  14. ↑ "Belgian police in appeal to public over gunman identity". BBC. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  15. ↑ "Photos of Jewish Museum shooter released as Belgium launches manhunt for suspect who killed four | National Post". News.nationalpost.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  16. ↑ "La tuerie du Musée juif de Bruxelles qualifiée d'acte " terroriste "" [Killings at the Belgian Jewish museum treated as "terrorism"]. Le Monde. 26 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Brussels Jewish Museum killings: Man held in Marseille". BBC News. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Pourquoi Mehdi Nemmouche est le principal suspect de la tuerie de Bruxelles" [Why Mehdi Nemmouche is the principal suspect of the killings in Brussels] (in French). 1 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Mehdi Nemmouche: ce que l'on sait de son parcours". lemonde.fr. Le Monde. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Captured Jewish Museum shooting suspect carried weapons, gas mask". CNN. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  21. ↑ Mulholland, Rory (1 June 2014). "French police arrest Syria jihadist over Brussels Jewish Museum murders". Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  22. 1 2 "France arrests Syria jihad suspects as Nemmouche held". BBC News.
  23. ↑ Staff. "Mehdi Nemmouche sort du silence: "Je suis solidaire"". Rtl.be. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  24. ↑ Of guns and ballot boxes: Jews are unnerved, but Europe is not sinking into violent anti-Semitism, economist.com.
  25. ↑ "Verdachte aanslag Joods Museum uitgeleverd: De Tijd" (in Dutch). Tijd.be. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "Abdelhamid Abaaoud, l’instigateur présumé des attentats tué à Saint-Denis" [Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged instigator of the attacks killed at Saint-Denis]. Le Monde. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Tweet by @dreynders". Twitter. 24 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "Four dead in shooting at Jewish museum in Brussels". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  29. ↑ Cnaan Lipshitz (25 May 2014). "Museum attack comes as no surprise to Belgian Jews". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  30. ↑ "Fusillade au Musée Juif à Bruxelles: "Ce qui s'est passé était prévisible"" [Shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels: "What has happened was foreseeable"]. RTL Group. 24 May 2014.
  31. ↑ "La nouvelle Ligue belge contre l'antisémitisme "ne concurrence pas le Mrax"" (in French). Rtbf.be. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  32. ↑ "Une fusillade près d'un musée juif à Bruxelles fait trois morts et un blessé grave" (in French). Huffingtonpost.fr. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  33. ↑ "Tuerie au Musée juif de Bruxelles : Laurent Louis " ne croit pas au hasard "" [Killing at the Jewish Museum in Brussels: Laurent Louis "doesn't believe in chance"]. Conspiracy Watch (in French). 24 May 2014.
  34. ↑ "Belgian Muslims condemn attack on Jewish Museum in Brussels". Kuwait News Agency. 2014-05-25. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  35. ↑ "Jewish and world leaders slam Brussels shooting, urge greater security". Ynetnews. 25 May 2014.
  36. ↑ "Investigators divided on terror motives in Brussels Jewish Museum shooting". Jerusalem Post. 27 May 2014.
  37. ↑ Robert-Jan Bartunek (26 May 2014). "Police hunt Brussels Jewish Museum gunman, France tightens security". Reuters.
  38. 1 2 3 4 "After Belgium attack, PM pans European ‘hypocrisy’". The Times of Israel. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  39. ↑ Somfavli, Atilla (25 May 2014). "Netanyahu slams Brussels shooting as result of hateful incitement". Ynetnews. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  40. ↑ "Bruxelles, spari al Museo ebraico: tre morti. Il ministro: "Presunto attacco antisemita"". Adnkronos. 2014-05-24. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  41. ↑ "Rutte belt met Di Rupo over aanval Brussel" [Rutte calls Di Rupio about Brussels attack]. Nederlands Dagblad. Novum. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  42. ↑ Despicable attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels. An affront against the values our modern Europe represents. Carl Bildt on Twitter. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  43. ↑ I'm shocked about the anti-Semitic attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels just one Day before the elections to the European Parliament. Birgitta Ohlsson on Twitter. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  44. ↑ "No: 175, 28 May 2014, Press Release Regarding the Armed Attack Perpetrated in Front of the Jewish Museum in Brussels". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  45. ↑ "Solidarity protests mark site of Brussels gun attack". Ynetnews. 26 May 2014.
  46. ↑ "Ban Ki-Moon condemns Brussels shooting; Rome Jewish museum to open late". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 26 May 2014.
  47. ↑ "Jewish and world leaders slam Brussels shooting, urge greater security". ynet News. 25 May 2014.

Coordinates: 50°50′27″N 4°21′12″E / 50.8408°N 4.3534°E / 50.8408; 4.3534

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