Belgian police hunting 2 suspects after Brussels metro shooting

BRUSSELS — Belgian police were hunting two suspects on Wednesday (Feb 5) after a shooting near the Brussels South international railway station, the city's prosecutor's office said.

Nobody was injured in the shooting, which happened around 6.00am (1pm SGT), at the Clemenceau metro station in central Brussels, prosecutors said, adding there were no indications of a terrorist motive in the incident.

Police initially launched a manhunt in the tunnels of the metro system, which was partially closed after two men carrying machine guns were seen fleeing into the Clemenceau station.

Broadcaster VRT said the shooting was probably drug-related and said the shooters had aimed at one person but had missed.

VRT showed on its website images of two people walking into Clemenceau metro station in central Brussels and opening fire with automatic weapons. The station along with several others around the station were shut for hours after the incident.

Another video showed a large group of heavily armed police assembling at the Clemenceau station, as a massive search for the suspects got underway.

The incident crippled traffic on the heavily used metro system in Brussels, which hosts many European Union institutions and Nato's headquarters.

By 2pm (9pm SGT) the whole city metro system had reopened, including the stations around the Gare du Midi international train station, the arrival point for Eurostar trains from Paris and London.

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