Man with dummy suicide belt arrested after terror alert at Brussels shopping centre
A MAN with a dummy suicide belt has been arrested after a bomb scare in a shopping centre in Brussels.
A man has been arrested after a bomb alert in Brussels
Emergency services and bomb disposal squads rushed at the scene after the alarm was raised this morning in the Belgian capital.
A suspect believed to have been wearing a suicide belt was arrested and detained.
Bomb experts have confirmed no explosives were found and that the suspect was wearing a dummy suicide belt.
A picture appearing to show the fake explosive has been released by Belgian newspaper Le Soir.
Document @lesoir: voici la fausse ceinture explosive du #City2 https://t.co/yCbuxNrWjV pic.twitter.com/3TaSA3hOGS
— Le Soir (@lesoir) 21 juin 2016
The suicide belt was filled with salt, according to Belgian media.
The suspect is reportedly a 26-year-old man. The male suspect as been described as “unstable” by a Belgian judicial source.
A second suspect with a suicide belt was reportedly arrested near Schaerbeek - an area which has become synonymous with terrorism - according to Belgian newspaper Dernière Heure.
Two metro stations were also evacuated, according to local reports.
The bomb alert happened at a shopping centre in the Belgian capital
The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has called a crisis meeting this morning.
The Belgian leader said “the situation is under control” and “the security services are remaining extremely vigilant”.
Brussels police spokesman Ilse Van de keere said the police had been warned “of a situation involving a suspect in a phone call at around 5.30 (local time).”
The area has been cordoned off while officers and bomb disposal squads search the area.
The area has been cordoned off by police as bomb squads search the scene
It is understood the suspect himself rang police about the bomb threat.
The security scare comes just days after a train station was evacuated in the Belgian capital after a bomb alert.
The alarm was raised at Brussels Central Station after two suspect suitcases were found abandoned by some lockers.
Belgium remains on high alert after 32 people were killed in bombings at Brussels Airport and a metro station.