Updated | Police in Brussels, Belgium, tweeted Tuesday that the "situation is under control" at its central train station after reports of an explosion and gunfire. Though the cause of the blast remained unclear, local media were reporting that military officials had "neutralized" a man wearing a belt of explosives, according to Reuters.
The incident was under investigation. BuzzFeed News reported one person was in police custody, but he had not yet been publicly identified.
"We got a call for a small explosion," fire department spokesman Pierre Meys told Het Laatste Nieuws, according to a rough translation. "There is currently no indication that there are wounded."
Trains in Brussels were stalled for the time being, according to the national railway company, though a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office told the Associated Press the station sustained no major damage.
Schoten/ontploffingen in #BrusselCentraal #bxl #nmbs @NMBS via @remybonnaffe @vrtderedactie @demorgen @destandaard pic.twitter.com/gFF6mB41n3
— Lawrence Vanhove (@LawrenceVanhove) June 20, 2017
DEVELOPING: Explosion has occurred at Brussels Central Station; suspect shot by military, senior Belgian law enforcement official tells @ABC
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 20, 2017
Other than the suspect, no civilians were hurt in the Tuesday incident, according to the AP.
"As we entered into the station, we were evacuated loudly by some security personnel," witness Arash Aazami told BBC News. "Looked around, saw people running in the streets, trying to seek refuge and decided to do the same ourselves."
Video on the scene at the Brussels train station shows the arrival of law enforcement pic.twitter.com/iUesZKMd7g
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 20, 2017
#UPDATE Suspect in Brussels train station blast shouted "Allahu Akbar," according to a witness
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 20, 2017
Residents were likely on high alert due to a trio of suicide bombings in Brussels in March 2016. The attack, which took place at the Brussels Airport and the nearby Maalbeek train station, injured hundreds and killed more than 30 people from other countries, including the United States, the Netherlands and China. The Islamic State militant group later took responsibility for the assault, which it said was motivated by Belgium's participation in an international coalition fighting ISIS overseas.
On Tuesday, the New York Police Department's counterterrorism unit said it was monitoring the incident in Belgium. In Belgium itself, both Prime Minister Charles Michel and Interior Minister Jan Jambon were aware and receiving updates on the situation.
