Man kills 3 in Belgium with guns of stabbed cops

LIEGE, Belgium (AP) — A knife-wielding man stabbed two female police officers in the Belgian city of Liege, stole their service weapons and shot them and a bystander dead in an attack Tuesday that prosecutors fear could be terror-related.

Justice Minister Koen Geens said the assailant, who was later killed by police, was released from prison on a two-day leave Monday. Geens described him as a multiple repeat offender who had been incarcerated since 2003.

Liege Police Chief Christian Beaupere said at a news conference that the slain officers were 45-years-old and 53-years-old, the latter the mother of twins. Four other officers were wounded in the attack, one of them seriously with a severed femoral artery.

State broadcaster RTBF identified the suspect as Benjamin Herman.

Herman, a Belgian national born in 1982, had a criminal record that included theft, assault and drug offenses, RTBF reported.

The federal prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

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

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

The two police handguns had a total of 17 bullets.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-449-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.