BRUSSELS (AP) – Belgium’s top migration official says an Algerian man who attacked two policewomen with a machete over the weekend was known to authorities for petty crimes but had not been linked to any terror offenses.
Migration State Secretary Theo Francken said Monday that the man, identified by Belgian media as Khaled Babouri, “was not known for terrorist reasons.”
Francken told Belgian Radio 1 that Babouri was “was caught in possession of hashish and other drugs and got a ticket because he switched his bus card with his brother.”
The 33-year-old Algerian, who wounded the two officers at Charleroi city police station on Saturday before being shot dead, had been living illegally in Belgium. He had been twice ordered to leave the country but failed to do so.