Brussels - Machine-gunning of the prison of Forest

from cette semaine

(Le 2 janvier 2010)

FOREST Just after the start of the new year 2010, the colleagues just having exchanged their good wishes, the personnel of the prison de Forest was far from imagining that the noise of an explosion a few minutes later was that of an automatic weapon.
They all thought that the sound was coming from fireworks being set off in the area before realising that the main door of the prison had been targeted with shots from a kalachnikov. Altogether 40 cartridge cases were found yesterday afternoon by the forensic police that arrived at the scene.
The shots took place at 0.40 hours. That is what was revealed by the cctv camera images inspected by the prison management. In these images it is possible to see the shadow of a vehicle appearing in the street before the windows of the huge door of the prison were shattered. According to our sources, that was all that could be see at this point from the videos.
The cartridge cases found at the scene were those of a weapon of war, a kalachnikov. It goes without saying that the shots would have been fatal for a human being.
The shots were so strong that they reached in interior of the prison, shattering a ventilation shaft. Fortunately there was nobody behind the door when the event took place. A member of personnel in charge of the surveillance of this main access to the prison was at his place just above the level jof the entrance door.
The question at the moment is obviously to know why the prison of Forest was the target of these shots in the middle of the night of Saint-Sylvestre.
What was the intention of those who fired the shots? The prison personnel are asking themselves: simple intimidation or something more?
The door shot at is the main access to the prison, that through which transfers of prisoners is carried out.

2.01.2009 http://www.dhnet.be/infos/faits-divers/article/294613/40-tirs-a-la-kalachnikov-contre-la-prison-de-forest.html