Brussels was effectively on terror lockdown Saturday after “precise” warnings of a Paris-style bomb and gun attack forced the closure of the subway system and citizens were warned to avoid public spaces.
As the manhunt continued for at least one suspect from last week’s massacre in France, the Belgian government raised the capital’s terrorism alert level to its highest status — indicating a “serious and immediate threat.”
Heavily armed police and soldiers were deployed across the city and all soccer games were canceled.
The country’s crisis center urged people in Brussels to avoid concerts, airports, public transportation and crowded shopping centers.
The capital of Europe today. Soldiers every 50 meters in some places. #Brussels pic.twitter.com/MAhWYS3jMl
— Eric Maurice (@er1cmau) November 21, 2015
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the alert was “based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris … where several individuals with arms and explosives launch actions, perhaps even in several places at the same time.”
At least one Paris attacker, Salah Abdeslam, crossed into Belgium the morning after the attacks but his whereabouts are unknown.
“We urge the public not to give in to panic, to stay calm,” Michel said. “We have taken the measures that are necessary.”








