Flemish Parliament bomb threat suspect detained
A suspected has been detained in connection with Tuesday’s bomb threat that led to the evacuation of the Flemish Parliament in Brussels. The suspect is a man from the Ghent area of East Flanders. The East Flemish Judicial Authorities have arrested the man and he is now being questioned.
The East Flemish Judicial Authorities have identified and arrested a man suspected of having made a bomb threat against the Flemish Parliament on Tuesday. He is now being questioned.
Annelies Verstraete of the East Flemish Judicial Authorities told VRT News that "We were able to locate the suspected based on the telephone call that was made. The investigation is currently ongoing”.
On Tuesday a meeting of Budget Select Committee about the new Flemish Government’s budget figure had to be adjourned as the Flemish Parliament building was evacuated. The evacuation took place after a telephone call had been received in which the caller said that there was a bomb inside the parliament building.
The call was made to the Flemish Parliament and the caller made the bomb threat in English. The call was taken seriously as a reception to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the setting up of the Kurdish Institute in Brussels was planned to take place in the Flemish Parliament building later in the day.
The building was evacuated and officers from the Military Police and the Brussels-Capital-Elsene Local Police Service assisted by dogs trained in the detection of explosives carried out a sweep of the building. No suspicious package was found.