BRUSSELS (AP) – Belgian authorities took a man into custody early Tuesday following a pre-dawn security alert at a major shopping center in downtown Brussels.
The security operation was launched following an alert about a suspicious package, according to staff at the City 2 shopping center. Belgium’s Standaard newspaper, quoting Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere, said that a man had called police threatening to blow himself up outside the mall.
Brussels prosecutors confirmed that a man had been taken into custody, but that no explosives were found.
“He is being questioned at the moment,” said Ine Van Wymersch, spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutors’ office. “There were no explosives.”
Amid the alert, Prime Minister Charles Michel changed his morning program and a meeting of the Belgian crisis center was called.