2011 Liège attack
2011 Liège attack | |
---|---|
The bus shelter on the Place Saint-Lambert, Liège; the killer was standing and killed himself on the platform on the right. | |
Location | Liège, Belgium |
Coordinates | 50°38′42″N 05°34′22″E / 50.64500°N 5.57278°E |
Date | Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:34-12:40 (CET) (UTC+01:00) |
Target | Civilians |
Attack type | Mass shooting, murder–suicide |
Weapons | |
Deaths | 7 (including the perpetrator and 1 before the attack) |
Injured | 120+ |
Perpetrator | Nordine Amrani |
On 13 December 2011, a murder–suicide attack took place in the city of Liège in the Wallonia region of Belgium.[2]
The attacker, 33-year-old Nordine Amrani,, the city's main square. The attack killed five and left more than 120 others injured, seven seriously. Amrani then killed himself with a revolver. Earlier that day, he had also murdered a woman in his house.
The attack occurred on the same day and at the same hour as the 2011 Florence shootings. There is no indication that the attacks were coordinated.
Attack
The attack took place on 13 December 2011, at 12:33 local time (11:33 UTC) in the Place Saint-Lambert, the centre of commercial life in Liège, home of the town's courthouse. It was a busy day with many shoppers in the nearby Christmas market.
Witnesses reported four explosions and gunfire. At first, it was believed that there were two or more assailants, who threw
Amrani killed five people in the attack and wounded more than 120 others,
Victims
- Antonietta Racano, 45, died at Amrani's apartment on 13 December
- Mehdi Belhadj, 15, died at Saint-Lambert Square on 13 December
- Pierre Gérouville, 17, died at Saint-Lambert Square on 13 December
- Gabriël Leblond, 1, died at a hospital on 13 December
- Claudette Putzeys, 75, died at a hospital on 15 December
- Laurent Kremer, 20, died at a hospital on 23 December
Perpetrator
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5d/Nordine_Amrani.jpg/220px-Nordine_Amrani.jpg)
Nordine Amrani (15 November 1978 – 13 December 2011) was born in
He grew up near Brussels, and was living with his fiancée, a home care nurse.[15] Orphaned young, he was raised in foster homes.[16][17]
Amrani had been released from prison in October 2010. He had been sentenced to 58-months (4 years, 10 months) from a Liège court in 2008. The conviction was for possession of thousands of weapons parts, almost 10,000 rounds of ammunition, dozens of weapons, including a
Before the attack, Amrani transferred money from his account to that of his girlfriend. On the morning of the attack, Amrani killed a 45-year-old woman in his apartment. The victim was working as a cleaner for Amrani's neighbour. He possibly lured her into his flat under the pretext of offering her work. After the murder, he hid her body in his shed, then left his flat for the city centre, equipped with a backpack containing the weapons.[18]
Reaction
Domestic
Recently appointed
Willy Demeyer, the mayor of Liège, condemned the attack and said the attack had "sown sorrow in the heart of the city".[19]
International
Condolences were expressed by the governments of Australia,[23] Estonia,[24] Latvia,[25] Lithuania,[26] Luxembourg,[27] Singapore[28] and the United Kingdom.[29]
See also
- January 2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium
- Brussels bombings
- 2018 Liège attack
References
- ^ "Fusillade à Liège: quatre morts, dont l'auteur – RTBF Regions". RTBF. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Belgium grenade attack kills two". The Daily Telegraph. 13 December 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ "L'info sur RTBF – Régions". RTBF. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Liège : 4 morts et des dizaines de blessés (live)" (in French). lesoir.be. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ e-TF1 (13 December 2011). "Quatre morts et 75 blessés dans une fusillade à Liège – Vidéo replay du journal televise : Le journal de 20h – TF1". Videos.tf1.fr. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Guardian.co.uk. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ "Leiche im Haus des Täters entdeckt" [Body found in suspect's home]. Focus Online (in German). 9 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Vier doden en 64 gewonden bij bloedige aanslag Luik". Algemeen Dagblad. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ "Liège attack: Gunman kills three in Belgium". Matt Cole. BBC News, Liège. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ "Vijfde slachtoffer van schietpartij is overleden". deredactie.be (in Dutch). 15 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Zesde slachtoffer van Nordine Amrani overleden, De Standaard (23 December 2011)
- ^ "Profile: Liege mass killer Nordine Amrani". BBC News. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ Waterfield, Bruno (14 December 2011). "Liege attacks: Belgian gunman Nordine Amrani had 'grudge against society'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "BBC News – Profile: Liege mass killer Nordine Amrani". BBC News. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Liege maniac left 'I love you' note for his girl". Express.co.uk. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ a b Belgian Gunman, Long in Trouble With Law, Killed Before Rampage
- ^ Waterfield, Bruno. "Liege attacks: Belgian gunman Nordine Amrani had 'grudge against society'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "Liege attacks: body found at home of Belgium gunman". The Daily Telegraph. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Liège attack: Belgian police search for gunman motive". BBC. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ "Vier doden na aanslag met granaten in centrum van Luik, 75 mensen gewond". De Morgen. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ "Liège : 4 morts et des dizaines de blessés (live)". lesoir.be. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Koning en premier Di Rupo bezoeken plaats van aanslag Luik" (in Dutch). clint.be. 13 December 2011.
- ninemsn. 15 December 2011. Archived from the originalon 11 July 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "President Offers Condolences to Wounded Belgium | News | ERR". News. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Developed by mendo. "Latvijas Republikas Saeima – Speaker Solvita Āboltiņa conveys condolences to Belgium". Saeima.lv. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "Lithuanian Foreign Minister Sends Condolences Over the Armed Attack in the Belgian City of Liège". Topix. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "Gunman leaves no clues to what sparked killings". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- Channel NewsAsia. 15 December 2011. Archived from the originalon 14 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ^ "Belgian gunman offered no explanation". News24. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2011.