Belgian killer's first victim found

Author: 
REUTERS
Publication Date: 
Wed, 2011-12-14 23:12

The body of a cleaning woman was found at a warehouse used by gunman Nordine Amrani, killed before he headed on Tuesday for a central Liege square to attack people around a bus station with an assault rifle and grenades.
Amrani's rampage ended with a death toll of five, including two teenagers and a toddler, as well as the gunman who shot himself in the head, a prosecutor said.
The overall death toll remained unchanged despite the discovery of the body in the warehouse on Tuesday night, as another 75-year-old woman who had been declared dead was later found to be in intensive care in hospital.
Amrani, a 33-year-old previously jailed for possession of arms and drug offenses, also injured 121 people, prosecutor Daniele Reynders said. Five of the injured remained in intensive care, while a further 40 people had been treated for shock.
The dead woman found in the warehouse was a cleaner in her late 40s, although it was not clear whether she had worked for the Brussels-born gunman, Reynders told a news conference.
Investigators were still trying to establish a motive for Belgium's deadliest attack in almost 25 years.
Another prosecutor, Cedric Visart de Bocarme, said Amrani had a troubled life but this did not explain the killings.
"The enormous concern we have is how it was possible for someone seemingly sensible and normal to do this," he told La Premiere radio station. However, he added: "This was a delinquent, someone who had difficulties throughout their life."
Amrani's lawyer told Belgian television that police in the eastern city of Liege had summoned his client on Tuesday about an alleged sexual offense, which had made him nervous. Amrani failed to show up.

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