Frenchman arrested in Belgium after trying to drive into crowd

Police in the northern Belgian city of Antwerp detained a French national on Thursday after he tried to drive a car into a major pedestrian shopping street at high speed.

“At about 11am this morning a vehicle entered De Meir at high speed due to which pedestrians had to jump away,” a police spokesman told a news conference, referring to the street name.

The driver was later arrested and additional police and military personnel have been deployed to the centre of Antwerp.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office later identified the suspect as Mohamed R., a 39-year-old French national. A number of weapons were found in his car, including a rifle, knives and a gas canister containing an unidentified liquid.

“We remain vigilant. Our security services have done excellent work,” Prime Minister Charles Michel said.

The incident comes a day after three people were killed in an attack near the British parliament in the heart of London. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the tragic incident on Thursday.

AFP