At approximately 0345 EST, initial reports from local Belgian media indicated that a barricade situation and shootout was underway between a heavily armed suspect and Federal Police Special Units. According to Sudpresse, the elite police force was serving a warrant against a man at his residence on Rue de l’Etang, in Lodelinsart, Charleroi, Belgium. Public prosecutor of Charleroi, Vincent Fiasse, reported the warrant service and that upon making contact with the suspect, the police officers were met with a hail of gunfire.
By 0430 EST, local media reported that the suspect was detained and that one of the police officers initially hit had died of their wounds on the way to the hospital. An additional officer is in critical condition. The Belgian Red Cross had established a psychosocial intervention service on the scene of the shooting as a cordon had isolated the neighborhood.
Dramatique actualité ce matin dans la région de Charleroi. Le SISU, notre service d'intervention psychosociale urgente, est sur place pour appuyer les services de secours https://t.co/dCCitG7wXB
— Croix-Rouge de Belgique (@CroixRougeBE) March 18, 2024
By 0630 EST, it was reported that the suspect had also died from injuries sustained during the Special Unit operation to neutralize the shooter. Belgian Interior Minister Verlinden was the first to report the Special Forces activity on scene.
Nous apprenons avec consternation le décès d'un membre des Unités spéciales de la @policefederale lors d'une intervention à Charleroi. Deux autres membres ont été blessés lors de l’opération, dont un se bat actuellement pour sa vie à l'hôpital.
— Annelies Verlinden (@AnneliesVl) March 18, 2024
The Directorate of special units (DSU) is the police tactical unit of the Belgian Federal Police. DSU has about 500 police officers. It is not clear which branch of the DSU conducted the warrant, but there is a highly centralized Intervention Unit which consists of about 50 operators specifically trained for barricades, hostage situations, and counter-terrorism scenarios. In such a small force, the death of one operator and the injury of two is a heavy blow.
