Man arrested at Brussels Gare du Midi with Kalashnikov rifle in bag

Police and military patrols arrested a man at Brussels’ Gare du Midi after customs officers found a Kalashnikov rifle in his bag during a security check, according to Belgian media.

Interior Minister Bernard Quintin seized on the arrest to defend the government’s decision to deploy joint security patrols at Brussels train and metro stations.

“Thank you to the services for their swift and decisive action,” Quintin wrote on X. “This demonstrates that strengthening patrols in train stations and subways with the help of our military is crucial and must be continued, or even expanded.”

The suspect had recently arrived by train from France. He was not brandishing the rifle inside the station, according to reports. Investigators are still working to establish why he was carrying the weapon.

Gare du Midi, Belgium’s main international rail gateway, has long struggled with crime and insecurity. Around 3,500 offenses were recorded there annually between 2018 and 2022 — roughly as many as across stations in 13 major Flemish cities combined. Theft, extortion and drug-related offenses were among the most common.

The arrest comes after another burst of gun violence around southern Brussels. Several shootings hit nearby Saint-Gilles in late August, leaving people injured, while police detained suspects and seized military-grade firearms.