Twenty-something arrested for three attacks in Deurne, building opposite Bart De Wever’s home was also targeted at the time (Deurne)

The investigating judge in Antwerp arrested a 24-year-old man from Ixelles last Friday. He is suspected of three shooting incidents in Deurne at the end of 2019. These attacks were then linked to Said B., a man from Deurne who has ties to major players in cocaine smuggling.

The facts date from December 19. Within fifteen minutes, three shots were fired at different facades in Deurne. The first incident took place around 4.30 am in Van Steenlandstraat. “Camera footage captured a suspect shooting six times with a handgun. The police counted five bullet impacts in the window and one in the facade,” says spokesperson Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office.

The images showed how the suspect then walked to the Herentalsebaan. There he fired five shots at an apartment building opposite the house of Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever. The suspect started running again. In the morning, an elderly lady in the Dascottelei reported a third shooting incident: four facades had pierced her window. The bullets ended up in the living room.

The federal judicial police of Antwerp opened a judicial investigation and were able to clearly link the three facts. “That was confirmed by the ballistic and forensic investigation. One firearm was used and a DNA trace was found on one of the casings that led to the man from Ixelles,” said Aerts.

The 24-year-old suspect was arrested last week on the orders of the investigating judge. “He was placed under arrest for violations of the Weapons Act and participation in a criminal organization.” The council chamber confirmed his arrest on Tuesday.

The public prosecutor’s office states that the facts could be seen as retaliation within the organized criminal environment. According to our information, at least two of the three attacks could be linked to Said EB from Deurne, better known in the criminal environment as ‘Said TanTan’. He has good ties with major players in cocaine smuggling.

(jtp)