Hundreds attend funerals of Belgium policewoman killed by suspected terrorist who used one of their guns
The gunman also killed a 22-year-old student.
Paris -- Hundreds of mourners, including police officers from across the country, attended the funerals Tuesday of the two Belgium policewomen gunned down last week by a suspected terrorist.
Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel and members of his Cabinet joined the ceremony at the Robermont crematorium in Liege.
Lucile Garcia, 53, who had recently become a grandmother, and Soraya Belkacemi, 45, a mother of 13-year-old twins whose father had previously died, were the two police officers killed during the May 29 attack in which a student also died.
The hearses for the two women made their way into the crematorium as police formed a guard of honor to pay tribute to their former colleagues, as seen on Belgium TV.
They died when a man stabbed them, took one of their guns and shot them. The suspected terrorist, identified by police as Belgium citizen Benjamin Herman, 31, then allegedly killed student Cyril Vangriecken, 22. Vangriecken, whose funeral was Monday, had been a passenger in a car at which the suspect fired.
Police later shot and killed the gunman after he fled into a nearby college and took a woman hostage. No students were harmed but four police officers were injured.
The Islamic State group said one of its "soldiers" killed the three people, the jihadists' Amaq propaganda agency said.
Belgium has been on high alert since 2016 when coordinated attacks by ISIS-inspired terrorists killed more than 30 people. The threat level has not been raised further as a result of last week’s attack.
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