Belgian police officers from the forensic service search for evidence in a street after two people were killed during a shooting in Brussels on 16 October 2023. Photo: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
Two people have been shot dead in the Belgian capital Brussels on Monday evening (local time), police have said.
Belgium's prime minister later confirmed the victims were Swedish. Brussels has increased its terror threat to the highest level.
A Belgium-Sweden Euro 2024 qualifier football match has been suspended and fans told to stay inside the stadium.
The gunman fled the scene and is still at large. Prosecutors say they are treating the shooting as terrorism.
A video posted on social media showed an Arabic-speaking man claiming he carried out the attack in the name of God.
The man in the clip added he has killed three people. The Federal Prosecutor's office has confirmed it has seen the video but cannot confirm he is the gunman.
The video and other footage of the attack is being verified by the police, the BBC has been told.
Federal prosecutors in Belgium have since told the AFP news agency that a terrorism probe has been opened following the shooting on the Boulevard d'Ypres.
A social media video shared by newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws on Monday, but not verified by BBC News, showed a man wearing a fluorescent jacket getting off a scooter armed with what appeared to be an assault-style rifle, before entering a nearby glass-fronted building.
He appeared to then shoot at least one person.
Police and emergency services have cordoned off nearby roads, following the shooting which happened at around 7pm local time.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he had "offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish PM following tonight's harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels".
"Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one."
It is not yet known whether the victims were in Brussels to watch their national team play.
- This story was originally published by the [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67129117 BBC}