Belgium killer had more grenades, says prosecutor

Local prosecutor Daniele Reynders said this morning that Liege gunman Nordine Amrani died in yesterday’s attack in an apparent suicide, and he was found with a number of grenades still on him.

“What killed him was a shot in the middle of his forehead,” she said.

The body of a woman has been found in the garage of Amrani, 33, who killed four people and injured 122 in the attack, officials said.

Reynders said the body of the woman, who was in her 40s, was discovered during a search of Amrani’s property.

Ms Reynders said the dead woman had been Amrani's cleaner.

“It was a cleaning lady. This is how she met him yesterday morning,” Ms Reynders said. “She died, shot with a bullet in the head.”

Two boys aged 15 and 17 and a 75-year-old woman also died in the attack, while an 18-month-old girl died yesterday evening in hospital, Liege police said. Several people remain in intensive care.

Ms Reynders said 40 other people also had to be treated for psychological trauma. It remains unclear what motivated the attack.

Amrani, who had spent time in jail for offences involving guns and drugs, had been called in for questioning by police in a sexual abuse case.

Officials said he left his Liege home with a backpack, armed with hand grenades, a revolver and an assault rifle.

He walked alone to a busy city centre square, then got on to a platform that gave him a clear view of the area below, which was bedecked with a huge Christmas tree and crowded with shoppers.

From there, he threw three hand grenades towards a nearby bus shelter, which serves 1,800 buses a day – the explosions sending shards of glass from the shelter across a wide area. He then opened fire upon the crowd.

As soon as the shooting began, hundreds fled the square as well as a nearby Christmas market. Video from the scene showed the crowds, including a large group of children, surging through the city centre to seek cover, some still carrying shopping bags.