[ploesj]

Far-right ties in Belgian murders

The killings have shocked the nation
A Belgian teenager accused of killing two people in a race attack in Antwerp has far-right family links, police say.

Hans van Themsche shot a pregnant black nanny from Mali and a two-year-old white girl in her care, before himself being shot and injured by police.

Mr Van Themsche, 18, also shot and injured a woman of Turkish descent.

"He obviously was in search of people of foreign origin to shoot them down. That's what he declared himself," a public prosecution spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman, Dominique Reyniers, added that the suspect was questioned on Friday and was due to appear in court after his recovery in hospital.


We have to avoid our society being sucked into a spiral of violence
Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt

Far-right fears highlighted

Police say Mr Van Themsche's father helped found the now defunct anti-immigration party Vlaams Blok, and his aunt is an MP for its successor, Vlaams Belang.

The then Vlaams Blok scored 24% in regional elections in Flanders in June 2004. But it has been kept out of government by a coalition of all the other parties in the Flemish assembly.

The Belgian government has strongly condemned the shootings, describing them as an extreme form of racism.

Hundreds of people marched in Antwerp on Friday to condemn the attacks.

Calls for calm

The shooting spree began on Thursday, after Mr Van Themsche bought a hunting rifle in a shop in Antwerp.

He walked to the city centre and shot the woman of Turkish descent in the chest, as she sat reading a book on a bench.

The woman was badly injured but survived the attack.

The teenager than shot two more people - the pregnant woman from Mali and the white toddler in her care - killing them both.

Police later intercepted Mr Van Themsche, and shot and wounded him in the stomach after he refused to put down his gun.

Mr Van Themsche - an agricultural college student - was reportedly asked to leave boarding school just days earlier for smoking. He also reportedly left a farewell letter.

Following the shootings, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt called for calm.

"We have to avoid our society being sucked into a spiral of violence," he said. "The police and the judicial system will do all that is needed for justice to be done."

The killings follow an attack last Saturday in the city of Bruges, in which a black Frenchman was left in a coma after being beaten up by a group of skinheads.
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anyone has heard about this? any opinions?

[screamingskull]

wow, thats really terrible, i was in antwerpen last month staying with my uncle, he lives right in the city centre you can see the church from his balcony. i should email him.

[JazzyJeff]

hmm that sux

[umjammer atomsk]

Yeah, that's terrible. I hadn't heard anything about it.

[bucklebone]

Disgusting. I feel that there will always be a culture clash with so much immigration going on. Horrible that some dickhead took it that far.

[alyasa]

I hope those racist skinheads and the racist college student can find some closure in thier lives. They should probably be sent to prison in an Asian country; where they can find enlightenment and discover the truth and beauty of life and what it means to be alive.

[Trasher02]

Yeah offcourse I heared it.
I know it's terrible we had an entire discussion about it in our class. It's horrible what that kid did and it's even more horrible that "het Vlaams Belang" gets so much votes, it's a very sad world we live in...

[Filipe]

belgium is sick at this moment, 2 media murders in 1 month (about a month ago their was a 17 year old boy murdered with a knife in brussels central station just for him mp3-player)

but I think both stories are blown up by the media... but it's a good sign I think

[krastian]

Yeah, people suck.