End of the run in Brussels: The alleged shooter of the murder of Hassan El Bachiri finally arrested

At the age of 17 at the time of the events, Akram B. was intercepted by the federal police after having disappeared from the radar since the evening of the crime. According to La Dernière Heure, the young man would have remained hidden in the heart of the capital, providing for his needs through the sale of drugs. His arrest comes shortly after the referral to the Assize Court of his brother and two other alleged accomplices.

The tragedy unfolded on May 19, 2024 on the terrace of a café on Avenue Stalingrad. The murder of Hassan El Bachiri and the attempted murder of a second man followed a violent altercation involving the suspect’s father earlier that morning. The latter, who had lost two teeth during a dispute related to a football match, was ultimately dismissed, the investigation having shown that he had tried to dissuade his sons from any violent action.

On the evening of the shooting, four individuals on two scooters had approached the establishment. While Akram B. is designated by the other protagonists as the author of the gunfire, his co-defendants claim to have been unaware of his real intentions. The plan would nevertheless have been hatched a few hours earlier in a snack bar in the neighborhood, after the brothers had been turned away when they tried to recover the bar’s video surveillance to identify their father’s aggressor.

The arrest of the last fugitive suspect is experienced as a "deep relief" by the victim’s loved ones. Akram B., who has remained silent since his arrest, is now the subject of two new judicial investigations. The indictment chamber is due to deliver its ruling this Friday, marking a decisive step before the trial at the Assize Court.