Brussels police kill suspect in shooting deaths of Sweden football fans

Police in Brussels have shot and killed the only suspect in the deaths of two Swedish football fans in Brussels on Monday night. 

The Federal Prosecutor's Office said the man, believed to be a radicalised Tunisian national living illegally in Belgium, had been shot dead in the city's Schaerbeek neighbourhood early Tuesday morning, where a building had been searched during the night.

Belgium's Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said "the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Brussels has been identified and has died", and praised the work of the intelligence and security services.

A huge manhunt was launched in the Belgian capital on Monday evening after a gunman killed two Swedish nationals.  

Amateur videos posted on social media of the attack showed a man wearing an orange fluorescent vest pull up on a scooter, take out a large weapon and open fire on passersby before chasing them into a building to gun them down.

Not far from the scene of the shooting, a football match between Belgium and Sweden at the national stadium was suspended at halftime and the 35,000 fans held inside as a precaution while the attacker was at large.

Prosecutor Eric Van Duyse said “security measures were urgently taken to protect the Swedish supporters” in the stadium. 

More than two hours after the game was suspended, a message flashed on the big stadium screen saying, “Fans, you can leave the stadium calmly.” Stand after stand emptied onto streets filled with police as the search for the attacker continued.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference before dawn on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described the shooting as a "brutal terrorist attack." 

“Last night, three people left for what was supposed to be a wonderful soccer