Jan Jambon, Belgium's Minister of the Interior and Security, said the suspect had been interned and recently freed.
[1] At around 5.30 am local time (CET) on 20 November 2018 a man attacked two policemen outside a police station adjacent to Brussels' central Grand-Place/Grote Markt, stabbing one of the officers in the neck with a knife.
[2] Belgian media reported the man, named by local press only as "Issam T," was known to police for robbery and violent crimes but not for any links to Islamic terrorism.
[8] He was released from a secure hospital in October against the recommendation of the office of the public prosecutor, which has now opened an investigation into "attempted murder with a terrorist motive".
[9] On 23 November, via a warrant issued for "murder and acts of terrorism", police searched the home of a friend of the suspect.