Police Arrest Suspect in Belgium Jewish Museum Killings

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Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw addresses the media at the Federal Prosecutor's office in Brussels, Sunday, June 1, 2014. Prosecutors say that a Frenchman arrested over killings at a Belgian Jewish museum had traveled to Syria and claimed responsibility for the shootings in a video.

Image: Yves Logghe/Associated Press

By Samantha Murphy Kelly2014-06-01 18:23:14 UTC

Police arrested a man suspected of killing three people in last week's shooting at the Jewish Museum of Belgium on Sunday.

Police in Marseille arrested Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, after he arrived in the southeastern French city on a bus from Amsterdam. Nemmouche, a Frenchman, previously went to Syria some time last year. Hundreds of European radicals are fighting in the country against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and there are fears that they could launch attacks in their home countries, according to the Associated Press .

See also: Security Videos Show Suspect in Deadly Jewish Museum Attack

"The new elements in this investigation draw attention once more to the problem of the 'returnees' — in other words the people going to Syria to participate in combat and return afterward to our country," Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw told The Associated Press. "All European countries are confronted at this moment with this problem."

Police found an automatic weapon on Nemmouche at the time of his arrest, but it's unclear whether it is the same one used in the shooting at the Brussels-based museum. The gun was discovered wrapped in a white sheet, which had the name of an extremist group fighting in Syria (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) written on it. Police also found clothes in the suspect's bag that resembled what the gunman wore during the shooting, as well as a digital camera containing footage related to attack, CNN reported.

Although Nemmouche was previously convicted of seven crimes, including attempted robbery, he has no terrorism-related convictions, according to the AP.

Last Saturday, the gunman arrived at the museum in a vehicle and started firing near the museum's entrance. After killing three people and wounding another, the shooter jumped back into the car and left the scene.

The arrest comes a week after Belgian police released security videos of the suspect, who wore a baseball hat, during the shooting spree.

Prosecutor Van Leeuw said the suspect attempted to film the killings, but couldn't get his camera to work, the AP reported. Another video found after the suspect's arrest shows his weapons and clothes, and includes audio of his voice claiming responsibility for the shooting.

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Topics: Belgium, Politics, Syria, U.S., US & World, World