Dutch man, 21, arrested for murder of woman in Oostende, Belgium on Saturday
A 21-year-old Dutch man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 43-year-old woman in Oostende, Belgium, Last Saturday. The 21-year-old man was arrested in the city center by Belgian and Dutch police in a joint effort, VRT reported.
“Considerable investigation preceded this,” said Tom Janssens, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service for the West-Vlaanderen district in Belgium. “First, we had to identify the suspect. Once that was done, we did everything possible to locate him. It quickly became clear that the investigation needed to focus on the Netherlands. He was arrested this afternoon at around 12:30 p.m. in the center of Maastricht.”
The victim was shot during the daytime in the city center of Oostende. Eyewitnesses claim to have heard a man and a woman arguing before the man shot her. It is not yet clear what relationship the man had with the victim. “It is still too early to say; we will provide further information later if necessary,” the authorities said.
According to VRT, the suspect fled the scene in a taxi to Bruges. This taxi was intercepted by police, but the suspect had already disappeared by that point. The suspect’s motives are unclear at this time.
The investigating judge in Bruges has initiated the procedure to extradite the suspect to Belgium.
