After the riots in Liège on Saturday, ten people were arrested, including one minor. The Liège police reported this at a press conference on Sunday. In total, 36 police officers were also injured.
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Nine police officers had to be hospitalized, one of them is still under observation. One officer also sustained a broken collarbone during the riot. Among the injured is a cop who was the target of rioters while on his motorcycle. He was hit hard, but not seriously injured, said Chief of Police Christian Beaupère, who described the riots as a “wave of anger and violence”.
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On the Place Saint-Lambert in Liège, there was a Black Lives Matter demonstration on Saturday afternoon with a few dozen people present. The demonstration was in response to the muscular arrest of a woman Monday morning at Place Saint-Lambert. But hundreds of rioters showed up, about 200 to 300. They looted shops and pelted the police station and the town hall with stones. The police had to use the water cannon and tear gas, among other things.
“Locked us up in the warehouse”
Katia Olszewska is the New Yorker in charge at Place Saint-Lambert. She says she had to hide with the customers while they heard bombs go off. “I was lucky that there was a security officer at the door and that the doors were quickly closed,” she tells RTL info. “I let the first two groups go out through the emergency exit at the back.” Unfortunately, not everyone had the same luck. “I didn’t get the third group out because the rioters tried to get in from the other side. I decided it was better to lock us up in the stock. We heard noise but we didn’t know what was going on. It was very stressful, ”she continues.
Four minors arrested
A total of ten arrests took place, police said. Six of these are judicial and four administrative. “Three of the suspects are from Liège,” he said. Among the ten suspects arrested are four minors. They are said to have been in possession of stolen goods and thrown projectiles. They are brought before the juvenile judge. The other six suspects are men between the ages of 23 and 46, who were mainly arrested for looting shops.
The Liège police also emphasized on Sunday that their main objective was to protect shops and buildings in the city center before making arrests. Investigators are now focusing on tracking down and identifying other perpetrators. There is also cooperation with the Brussels police zones, as a number of rioters came from Brussels. So there will be more arrests in the coming days.
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