A joint French and Belgian anti-terrorism squad investigating the Paris attacks that killed 130 people last November arrived to search an apartment building in a Brussels suburb Tuesday afternoon, when they came under gunfire, according to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. There were several exchanges of fire that lasted until about 6 PM, and four officers were wounded.
Police armed with submachine guns cordoned off the scene, blocking roads and ordering residents to stay indoors. Two schools close to the scene of the shooting were placed in lockdown.
Eventually, police stormed the apartment where Belgium’s federal prosecutor said one or more people had barricaded themselves. Police came under fire through a door when carrying out the raid. One terrorist was found dead by police. It was unclear whether others were on the run.
Four months after the Paris attacks, Belgian police are still piecing together details regarding the role that Belgian nationals played in it. They are also still looking for missing suspects including fugitive Salah Abdeslam, whose brother was one of the Paris suicide bombers. The suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks was a Brussels resident, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Another attacker, Bilal Hadfi, lived in the Forest suburb of Brussels, where Tuesday’s raid took place.