[3][4] According to accounts of Belgian police and prosecutors, the attack began just before 4:00 p.m., when the perpetrator approached two officers stationed at the checkpoint at the front of the police headquarters, immediately pulled a machete from the sports bag he carried and swung it violently toward the officer's heads.

One suffered an injury to her jaw and had to undergo a second operation to avoid facial paralysis.

[14] Interior minister Jan Jambon stated that OCAM (Organ for Coordination for Analysis of Threats) is evaluating the attack "to determine if it is terrorism.

Le Soir reported that an Algerian family live at the residence.

[17] The Mouvement Réformateur party presented a law on the Belgian Parliament that Belgian foreign aid be withheld from countries that don't allow the repatriation of their own citizens who are illegal immigrants in Belgium, and the Charleroi attack was cited as an example.