Judge and court clerk shot dead in Brussels

from timesonline

A Belgian judge was shot dead at point blank range in her courtroom because her attacker nurtured a grudge dating back three years over her decision to evict him from his home, prosecutors said today.
The 47-year-old suspect, said to be a naturalised Iranian, was arrested after being surrounded by police in a Brussels park less than a mile from the scene of the double murder of Isabelle Brandon, 60, a Justice of the Peace, and her clerk, André Bellemans, 59.
The cornered man shot in the air several times but was distracted by one police officer firing over his head, while another police officer disarmed him by striking his arm with his baton, witnesses said.
“Three years ago, he was in a rental dispute with his landlord and the judge evicted him,” said Jean-Marc Meilleur, spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor’s office.
“According to his own statement, he was out for revenge. He had bought his firearm two years ago in the street and was not known to have a fixed address.”
He added: “The motive seems to have been revenge against the justice system in general and this judge in particular.”