Man shot dead judge and clerk in court

A MANHUNT was under way in Brussels last night after a lone gunman shot a judge and her assistant in a city centre courthouse.

Witnesses said the man stood up, took out the gun, aimed and fired at each of them in turn, killing them instantly.

Without saying a word he then fled from the court and disappeared into the busy Marolles area of the city on foot with his weapon.

Jean-Mark Meilleur, spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor’s office, said: “He was present at the start of the hearing. Towards the end of the session, he pulled out a gun. Shots were fired and the killer fled.”

There were very few people in the court at the time – three lawyers and two other people who took cover before raising the alarm when the man fled. One of the lawyers was reported to have chased after the gunman, but lost him.

One person said that the gunman waved his gun around the courtroom before dashing out, leaving those left in the room scrambling to keep out of his way.

Unconfirmed reports said the man was Albanian and had attended an earlier court hearing over custody of his child.

Whether he left the court and returned later was unclear.

The dead judge, Isabelle Brandon, was in her late 50s and was due to retire shortly as was her court clerk, Andre Bellemans. They normally heard minor family cases, civil issues and disputes over small sums of money.

There were calls for security to be installed in Belgium’s courts after the murders and the Justice Minister, Stefaan De Clerck, who had been opposed to such measures in the past, said they would reexamine the issue.

He paid tribute to the murdered judge, describing her as a “remarkable judge who always took time to listen to the different parties and consider all aspects of the case. She was very conscientious and her death is a great loss”.

Yesterday’s attack was a first in Belgian history but the latest in a series of judicial security problems.

The killings took place while the justice of the peace was hearing a case in the tribunal dealing with family and neighbour disputes, just a hundred metres from Brussels’ imposing Palace of Justice in the heart of the Belgian capital.

As the hearing was ending in late morning the man, who had been present throughout, “pulled out a firearm, a revolver, and fired at the judge and her clerk, killing both”, said Meilleur.

“The assailant “was briefly pursued by one of the lawyers present but he managed to flee on foot down one of the roads in the area,” he added.

De Clerck said: “This is a real drama. A magistrate, for the first time in history, and her clerk, were killed right in the tribunal room, it’s unacceptable.”

A minute’s silence was observed by judges and lawyers in the Palace of Justice later in the day.