"The public prosecutor's office has given further details about the attack on the National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology in Neder-over-Heembeek in Brussels last night. Five people were detained in the vicinity of the centre after the events, but later released. Spokeswoman Ine Van Wymeersch confirmed that the Institute that holds the national DNA data bank had been the target of an arson attack. As a result of the late hour of the attack - 2AM - nobody was in the building and nobody was hurt. The NICC is a scientific centre operated by the justice department that carries out judicial investigations and analyses. Belgian prosecutors stress that the target was not a random one as the centre contains sensitive information with regard to ongoing investigations. Ine Van Wymeersch: "Several perpetrators forced their way into the site and managed to reach the wing of the building that houses forensic labs."...Ine Van Wymeersch: "At present there is no confirmation that this is a terrorist outrage, though all possible roads of enquiry are being looked at. It goes without saying that several people could have an interest in parts of their dossier being destroyed."... VRT’s Sofie Demeyer has learned that the arson attack occurred at the labs that examine the evidence provided by hairs and the entomology labs that e.g. are used to establish the length of time a body has been in the ground by examining larvae and insects in the remains. It’s unclear whether these labs were specifically targeted or were randomly damaged. The centre is not manned around the clock and relies on an alarm system during the night. Only when the alarm is triggered, do the police attend the scene."
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Belgium: (Flanders News): Bulletin: Explosions heard at National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology in Neder-over-Heembeek in Brussels...Official confirms that the Institute that holds the national DNA data bank had been the target of an arson attack...The NICC is a scientific centre operated by the justice department that carries out judicial investigations and analyses. Belgian prosecutors stress that the target was not a random one as the centre contains sensitive information with regard to ongoing investigations. Terrorism not ruled out; Ine Van Wymeersch: "At present there is no confirmation that this is a terrorist outrage, though all possible roads of enquiry are being looked at. It goes without saying that several people could have an interest in parts of their dossier being destroyed."....Flanders News.
"The public prosecutor's office has given further details about the attack on the National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology in Neder-over-Heembeek in Brussels last night. Five people were detained in the vicinity of the centre after the events, but later released. Spokeswoman Ine Van Wymeersch confirmed that the Institute that holds the national DNA data bank had been the target of an arson attack. As a result of the late hour of the attack - 2AM - nobody was in the building and nobody was hurt. The NICC is a scientific centre operated by the justice department that carries out judicial investigations and analyses. Belgian prosecutors stress that the target was not a random one as the centre contains sensitive information with regard to ongoing investigations. Ine Van Wymeersch: "Several perpetrators forced their way into the site and managed to reach the wing of the building that houses forensic labs."...Ine Van Wymeersch: "At present there is no confirmation that this is a terrorist outrage, though all possible roads of enquiry are being looked at. It goes without saying that several people could have an interest in parts of their dossier being destroyed."... VRT’s Sofie Demeyer has learned that the arson attack occurred at the labs that examine the evidence provided by hairs and the entomology labs that e.g. are used to establish the length of time a body has been in the ground by examining larvae and insects in the remains. It’s unclear whether these labs were specifically targeted or were randomly damaged. The centre is not manned around the clock and relies on an alarm system during the night. Only when the alarm is triggered, do the police attend the scene."
