The Belgian police have shot a Dutch youth prisoner in Belgium. That happened on Wednesday afternoon in the village of Sint-Lenaarts, just across the Dutch border. Earlier in the day, the detainee had taken two employees of the Den Hey-Acker juvenile detention center near Breda hostage and threatened them with a firearm. That confirms the Department of Judicial Institutions (DJI) Wednesday evening.
According to a spokesman, the detainee was working just outside the walls of the institution. He kidnapped two employees there, took them in a car and crossed the border. A spokesperson could not say who the car belonged to. It is also unclear how he obtained a weapon.
In Belgium, the police tried to arrest the prisoner, shots were fired and he was killed. It is unknown whether he shot himself. An investigation is underway. In Belgium, the employees were released. They are physically unharmed. “A very intense experience for our colleagues,” said the spokesperson.
Young people up to the age of 23 are in a juvenile detention centre. They have been convicted or placed on a preventive basis pending trial. The average age at a placement is 17 years. The sentence that young people serve there lasts a maximum of two years. The DJI has not released any details about the prisoner’s background.
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