12-year-old boy on scooter dies after police chase through park

A 12-year-old boy on a scooter died on Monday evening after a collision with a police car in Elisabeth Park.

According to an eyewitness, the victim was hit from behind by the vehicle while being pursued by the police, Bruzz reports, and another witness said that two people were initially riding the scooter before the second person got off and fled.

Video footage shows that the accident occurred near Avenue des Gloires Nationales in Ganshoren.

Ganshoren mayor Jean-Paul Van Laethem said that the victim died in hospital after the accident, which was the result of a police chase that began in Koekelberg but ended just across the municipal border in Ganshoren.

“My thoughts are with the victim's family and with this young boy, born in 2013,” Van Laethem said, “I also have a thought for the police officers who must be in shock after this intervention that ended so badly.”

A local resident who was walking through the park just after the incident said he was not surprised that the accident happened at that particular spot.

“I regularly see police cars driving through the park at quite high speeds,” he told Bruzz.

“I understand that the boy may have been at fault, but I do wonder whether the officers handled the situation correctly.

"In any case, I would not want anyone to die because of such actions. It is usually a quiet park, with children playing and people walking their dogs. Driving at high speed here can be dangerous."

The reasons for why the child on the scooter was being chased through a public park by police in a car are not yet clear.

The public prosecutor's office said it had appointed an expert to determine the circumstances of the accident and that a committee will conduct an investigation.

Emile Luhahi (Groen), who has previously worked in youth support in Brussels, described the accident as “a collective failure” and called for a thorough investigation.

“It is right and justified that the P Committee is looking into this case, but let's be clear: when a child dies during a police operation, it is a collective failure,” Luhani said.

“And this must never, ever happen to another family.”