Two police officers dead as man goes on rampage

Attack: Liege suspect kills three in possible terrorism-linked outrage

A knife-wielding man stabbed two female police officers in the Belgian city of Liege, stole their weapons, and shot them and a bystander dead in an attack prosecutors fear may be terror-related.

Justice Minister Koen Geens said the attacker, who was later killed by police, was freed from jail on Monday for a two-day leave.

Mr Geens said he was a multiple repeat offender who had been in prison since 2003.

Liege Police Chief Christian

“He came out firing at police, wounding a number of them”

Beaupere said the slain officers were aged 45 and 53, the latter the mother of twins.

Four other officers were wounded in the attack, one of them seriously with a severed femoral artery.

Belgian television identified the suspect as Benjamin Herman, a Belgian national born in 1982 with a criminal record that included theft, assault and drug offences.

Earlier, Liege prosecutors’ spokesman Philippe Dulieu said the man crept up on the two officers from behind and stabbed them several times.

“He then took their weapons. He used the weapons on the officers, who died,” Mr Dulieu said.

Mr Dulieu said the attacker then shot dead a 22-year-old man in a vehicle that was leaving a parking place outside a nearby high school, before taking a woman hostage inside the school.

“Liege police intervened. He came out firing at police, wounding a number of them, notably in the legs. He was shot dead,” the spokesman said.

A senior official at the federal prosecutor’s office said: “There are indications it could be a terror attack.”

Asked about the report that the attack was terrorrelated, Liege city hall Michel Firket spokesman said: “I know nothing formal about that.”

A spokeswoman for the mayor’s office said the schoolchildren were all safe.

Belgium’s King Philippe, Prime Minister Charles Michel and the country’s justice and interior ministers travelled to Liege to confer with local officials.

“I want to offer my government’s support for the victims, for the victims’ families,” Mr Michel said.

In a message on Twitter shortly after the outrage, Prime Minister Theresa May said: “My thoughts are with the victims of today’s cowardly attack in Belgium and their grieving families.

“The UK stands resolute with our Belgian allies against terror.”

Video posted on Twitter by a person claiming to be a witness showed people running in the area. About six gunshots could be heard.

Belgian police and military have been on alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people at the Brussels airport and subway system in 2016.

AFTERMATH: Police investigate at the scene of a shooting in Liege, Belgium, that left three people dead, including two police officers