An unidentified gunman shot dead a judge and a clerk in a court room in central Brussels on Thursday, a Brussels prosecution spokesman said. The gunman fled on foot and is still at large, spokesman Jean-Marc Meilleur said. He believed the man was still armed and could not confirm whether he was injured.
The police were searching for the gunman. It is unclear why the assailant, who attended a hearing on Thursday morning along with two or three lawyers, the clerk and the judge, shot the two victims.
Prosecutors have started an investigation, Mr Meilleur said. He declined to provide further details on the victims, saying certain family members had not yet been informed. Justice minister Stefaan De Clerck said it was the first time a judge had been killed in a Belgian court.
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Cumbria rampage toll rises to 12
AGE CORRESPONDENT
London
British gunman Derrick Bird, who went on a shooting spree on Wednesday in the tourist region of Cumbria, killed 12 people, including his twin David and a lawyer. Around 11 people were injured in the four-hour shooting spree at the end of which 52-year-old Bird killed himself in the tourist region of Cumbria in England.
The lawyer has been identified as 60-year-old Kevin Joseph Commons, senior partner in law firm KJ Commons and Co.
Britain is struggling with shock caused by the shooting spree.