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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/world/europe/death-toll-rises-after-liege-belgium-attack.html
Belgian Gunman, Long in Trouble With Law, Killed Before Rampage
Francois Lenoir/Reuters
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/12/15/world/europe/15belgium/15belgium-
Women lit candles on Wednesday in memory of victims at the site of a gun and grenade attack in Liege, Belgium.
By JAMES KANTER
Published: December 14, 2011
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LIÈGE, Belgium — Belgian police said on Wednesday that they had discovered a cleaning woman’s body at a storage facility used to keep weapons and grow marijuana by the man who killed at least three people when he lobbed hand grenades and fired indiscriminately into crowds at a central square on Tuesday.
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Man Kills 4 in Grenade and Gun Attack at Belgian Bus Shelter (December 14, 2011)
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Prosecutors believe the attacker, whom they identified as Nordine Amrani, 33, killed the woman before his rampage in the historic Place St.-Lambert, which left about 120 injured, at least five critically, and ended with him turning the gun on himself. Her death brought Mr. Amrani’s toll to five.
The authorities said there was no evidence of any link between Mr. Amrani and terrorist groups for which European cities have long been on alert. Rather, as the square slowly returned to the appearance of normalcy, with shops opening and pedestrians returning, a traumatized country focused its concerns on whether the country’s legal system had properly handled a troubled man with a history of run-ins with the law.
Born in Belgium of Moroccan descent, he grew up near Brussels, according to the portrait that emerged from Belgian news reports, and was living with a nurse. Orphaned early, he was raised in foster homes. He was fascinated with firearms, and skilled at repairing them. In 2008, he received a 58-month prison sentence after he was found to have 9,500 weapons parts and several complete weapons, as well as 2,800 marijuana plants. But he was freed before the end of the term.
On Tuesday, he was supposed to appear before the police to answer questions about a sexual abuse case. He did not go.
Danièle Reynders, the city’s prosecutor, said at a news conference on Wednesday that he had armed himself from his private arsenal and headed to the square on foot. He mounted a platform that gave him an unimpeded view of the historic square, which includes a collection of bus stops that serve some 1,800 buses a day. The annual Christmas market that normally draws thousands of visitors had been closed for high winds, but there were still crowds there when he threw four grenades and opened fire.
The explosions scattered glass from the bus shelters far and wide. Video showed people fleeing, including a large group of children. The police rapidly closed off the area and moved through surrounding streets on foot and searched by helicopter for possible accomplices.
His victims included a year-and-a-half-old toddler and two teenage boys.
Ms. Reynders said that significant numbers of weapons were found at the warehouse and that some, including a handgun, were found at Mr. Amrani’s apartment.
The name of Mr. Amrani’s girlfriend was displayed on a card from the local gas company on a window of the building where the cleaning woman’s body was found. The building had a smashed window and looked largely unused. Its door and an adjoining garage, were sealed with blue police tape.
Neighbors living a few doors away from his apartment said they were aware of Mr. Amrani’s prison record. But a number of them stressed his politeness and he had even won the trust of one of the building’s numerous older residents.
“What happened is incomprehensible, and I am totally shocked,” said Micheline Clement, 67. “He held open doors for me, and he carried my packages upstairs sometimes,” she said.
According to an interview with his lawyers, Abdelhadi Amrani and Didier De Quévy, published on the Web site of the Belgian newspaper, La Dernière Heure, he “didn’t speak a word of Arabic and wasn’t a Muslim” and “ felt Belgian.” They said he loved weapons, but only as a collector. But they also said he felt that he had not had much luck in life, and that the justice system had not treated him fairly.
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London, Stephen Castle from Brussels, and J. David Goodman from New York.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/world/europe/death-toll-rises-after-liege-belgium-attack.html
Belgian Gunman, Long in Trouble With Law, Killed Before Rampage
Francois Lenoir/Reuters
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/12/15/world/europe/15belgium/15belgium-
Women lit candles on Wednesday in memory of victims at the site of a gun and grenade attack in Liege, Belgium.
By JAMES KANTER
Published: December 14, 2011
Sign In to E-Mail
Reprints
LIÈGE, Belgium — Belgian police said on Wednesday that they had discovered a cleaning woman’s body at a storage facility used to keep weapons and grow marijuana by the man who killed at least three people when he lobbed hand grenades and fired indiscriminately into crowds at a central square on Tuesday.
Related
Man Kills 4 in Grenade and Gun Attack at Belgian Bus Shelter (December 14, 2011)
Metro Twitter Logo.
Connect With Us on Twitter
Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.
Prosecutors believe the attacker, whom they identified as Nordine Amrani, 33, killed the woman before his rampage in the historic Place St.-Lambert, which left about 120 injured, at least five critically, and ended with him turning the gun on himself. Her death brought Mr. Amrani’s toll to five.
The authorities said there was no evidence of any link between Mr. Amrani and terrorist groups for which European cities have long been on alert. Rather, as the square slowly returned to the appearance of normalcy, with shops opening and pedestrians returning, a traumatized country focused its concerns on whether the country’s legal system had properly handled a troubled man with a history of run-ins with the law.
Born in Belgium of Moroccan descent, he grew up near Brussels, according to the portrait that emerged from Belgian news reports, and was living with a nurse. Orphaned early, he was raised in foster homes. He was fascinated with firearms, and skilled at repairing them. In 2008, he received a 58-month prison sentence after he was found to have 9,500 weapons parts and several complete weapons, as well as 2,800 marijuana plants. But he was freed before the end of the term.
On Tuesday, he was supposed to appear before the police to answer questions about a sexual abuse case. He did not go.
Danièle Reynders, the city’s prosecutor, said at a news conference on Wednesday that he had armed himself from his private arsenal and headed to the square on foot. He mounted a platform that gave him an unimpeded view of the historic square, which includes a collection of bus stops that serve some 1,800 buses a day. The annual Christmas market that normally draws thousands of visitors had been closed for high winds, but there were still crowds there when he threw four grenades and opened fire.
The explosions scattered glass from the bus shelters far and wide. Video showed people fleeing, including a large group of children. The police rapidly closed off the area and moved through surrounding streets on foot and searched by helicopter for possible accomplices.
His victims included a year-and-a-half-old toddler and two teenage boys.
Ms. Reynders said that significant numbers of weapons were found at the warehouse and that some, including a handgun, were found at Mr. Amrani’s apartment.
The name of Mr. Amrani’s girlfriend was displayed on a card from the local gas company on a window of the building where the cleaning woman’s body was found. The building had a smashed window and looked largely unused. Its door and an adjoining garage, were sealed with blue police tape.
Neighbors living a few doors away from his apartment said they were aware of Mr. Amrani’s prison record. But a number of them stressed his politeness and he had even won the trust of one of the building’s numerous older residents.
“What happened is incomprehensible, and I am totally shocked,” said Micheline Clement, 67. “He held open doors for me, and he carried my packages upstairs sometimes,” she said.
According to an interview with his lawyers, Abdelhadi Amrani and Didier De Quévy, published on the Web site of the Belgian newspaper, La Dernière Heure, he “didn’t speak a word of Arabic and wasn’t a Muslim” and “ felt Belgian.” They said he loved weapons, but only as a collector. But they also said he felt that he had not had much luck in life, and that the justice system had not treated him fairly.
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London, Stephen Castle from Brussels, and J. David Goodman from New York.
