Possibly planned attack on Belgium’s Miss pageant

Shortly before the start of the show, a suspicious man was arrested late Saturday afternoon, the public prosecutor’s office in Brussels announced on Sunday. He was armed with a handgun and another firearm and a bulletproof vest were found in his car.

“The investigation revealed that he may have wanted to carry out an assassination attempt during the Miss Belgium election,” the statement said. According to the public prosecutor, there was initially no reliable information about possible motives for the man born in 1976. The suspect was not known to either the police or the intelligence services, it said. It was therefore also unclear whether a companion of the man from the Netherlands had been informed about the alleged attack plans. Both should be presented to an examining magistrate by Monday at the latest, who should then decide on a possible arrest warrant.

The Miss Belgium pageant at the Plopsaland amusement park in De Panne was carried out as planned on Saturday evening after a search of the rooms with explosives detection dogs. The winner of the competition was 21-year-old Emilie Vansteenkiste.