Belgium cop killers arrested

Three suspects in the killing of the young Leuven police agent Kitty Van Nieuwenhuysen have been arrested Saturday. 23 year old Van Nieuwenhuysen was shot on Dec. 4th in Lot, when she was called to deal with a break-in.

The murder of the police agent, who had just finished her studies, had shocked Belgium. The men arrested in Charleroi are known to the police and have already been sentenced in the past. Two have Belgian citizenship and are of Moroccan origin, the third has Turkish citizenship.

The suspects are 29, 30 and 31 years old. Two come from the Charleroi region, the third from Namen. The three had fled abroad immediately after the murder. Two came back rather quickly to Belgium. After the third suspect came back yesterday, a special unit of the federal police picked up the trio. The police conducted searches of the residences all of three suspects in order to find useful information relating to the investgiation.

The murder took place Sunday, Dec. 4th at about 3am in Lot. The three men tried to steal a car. When the owner, a karate teacher, tried to stop them, they shot him down. A police patrol which was called to the site also came under fire, before the agents could leave their car. Kitty Van Nieuwenhuysen, who sat in the passenger seat, was seriously injured in her head and died. Her 27 year old colleague was seriously injured. The thieves shot at least 20 bullets at the agents.The murder of the young agent, who would have been 24 on Dec. 5th, shocked the country. She had just finished the police school in Asse.