Nabil shared dinner with his parents Wednesday. By Thursday, they knew he had been shot dead

“His daughters adored him, and even yesterday he was at home having a meal with us.” Lahoussine Moujahid is struggling to accept that his son Nabil will not be coming back. Just hours after their last family meal, the man in his forties was found dead on Thursday, October 29, on rue des Érables in Saint-Nicolas, in Belgium’s Liège province.

At around 7 a.m., police were called after the body was discovered. A crashed car was at the scene, with a visible bullet impact. The public prosecutor’s office was immediately notified, and an investigating judge, accompanied by a forensic doctor and the scientific police, was called in.

The victim, originally from Ans, was the father of two young girls. A former heavy goods vehicle driver, Nabil had gone through a difficult period after his separation from his partner. “He was very sad and depressed,” his friend Aziz told the Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure.

Three bullets and a suspect arrested

Initial forensic findings revealed three bullet wounds to Nabil’s upper body. A suspect was arrested at the scene. During searches at his home, police found a firearm that may have been used in the killing.

The Liège public prosecutor’s office is provisionally treating the case as murder, which would imply possible premeditation. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday, October 30, while the investigation continues to establish the circumstances of the tragedy.

“He had no enemies; I don’t know who could have done this,” said Lahoussine, who is also worried about his seriously ill wife. It was their son’s former partner who broke the terrible news to them as they were having breakfast.

Family and friends quickly gathered in the neighborhood to support the family. Aziz expects a large turnout at the funeral: “There will be a lot of people at the mosque to say goodbye to him.”