Youth set fire to two police cars in Molenbeek

In the Brussels commune of Molenbeek on Friday, an unknown number of youth lit a police car on fire. A second police vehicle was the target of attempted arson in the night from Friday to Saturday. The police are still investigating whether the two incidents are connected.

The first vehicle was set on fire around 19.00 on Friday between Rue des Quatre-Vents and Rue Jean-Baptiste Decock, close to where terror suspect Salah Abdeslam was arrested earlier this year. The youth first smashed the windows of the car before throwing a Molotov cocktail inside. There were no injuries.

There was an attempt to set fire in the same way to a second police car in Rue Emile Deroover shortly after midnight. The car belongs to the special youth brigade unit and was unmarked.

The police arrested an 18-year-old man after he checked himself into an Anderlecht hospital with severe burns. The explanation given by the suspect for his injuries does not add up, according to the police.