French Police arrest suspected Brussels Jewish Museum shooter
- 10 years ago
French authorities say they've arrested a 29-year-old Frenchman they say killed three people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
Mehdi Nemmouche was arrested in the city of Marseilles in the south of France. Authorities said he had weapons in his luggage.
The Paris prosecutor said the alleged shooter spent a year in Syria - after becoming radicalized after five stays in jail in France.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS PROSECUTOR FRANCOIS MOLINS SAYING:
"He was therefore freed on December 4, 2012 as I said. On December 31, 2012 -- so three weeks after being freed -- he traveled to Syria, from Brussels, going through London, Beirut and Istanbul. He stayed more than a year in Syria where he seems to have joined the ranks of combatant groups - terrorist, jihadist groups -- combatant groups of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant."
The head of the Jewish Community in Belgium said he's relieved.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN BELGIUM, MA
Mehdi Nemmouche was arrested in the city of Marseilles in the south of France. Authorities said he had weapons in his luggage.
The Paris prosecutor said the alleged shooter spent a year in Syria - after becoming radicalized after five stays in jail in France.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS PROSECUTOR FRANCOIS MOLINS SAYING:
"He was therefore freed on December 4, 2012 as I said. On December 31, 2012 -- so three weeks after being freed -- he traveled to Syria, from Brussels, going through London, Beirut and Istanbul. He stayed more than a year in Syria where he seems to have joined the ranks of combatant groups - terrorist, jihadist groups -- combatant groups of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant."
The head of the Jewish Community in Belgium said he's relieved.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN BELGIUM, MA