Belgian authorities have arrested six minors on suspicion of planning a chemical attack on a school in Hasselt, capital of Limburg province in northeast Belgium, near the Dutch border west of Maastricht.
The Limburg Regio Hoofdstad (LRH) police zone and the Limburg public prosecutor’s office disclosed the case on July 6, 2026, though the arrests were made in mid-June.
The investigation began after members of a school’s management filed a complaint with police. They had become aware of a group on video-sharing platform TikTok in which participants threatened to set fire to the school and carry out a chemical attack on the building and its management.
Within the group, members also referred to school shootings, extremist groups and past acts of violence, police said.
The account holders had hidden behind anonymous profiles. Police and prosecutors said they intervened at once and opened an urgent investigation to establish their identities, assisted by several internet providers.
The same day, six pupils at the school concerned were identified, and within 24 hours all had been arrested. The charge is “threat of an attack”.
In Belgium, offences committed by minors are dealt with by a juvenile judge rather than the ordinary criminal courts, and such proceedings are held behind closed doors, which limits what authorities can make public.
All six were brought before juvenile court judges in Hasselt and Tongeren. The public prosecutor’s office said it would not comment further because the suspects are minors. Authorities did not disclose what measures the courts imposed, given the young age of the suspects, and the prosecutor did not elaborate on what kind of extremism or ideology the minors may have followed.
Which school was targeted remains unclear, as does the impact on it. The case is being taken forward by the youth-crime unit of the LRH zone, under the direction of the prosecutor.
“Through the speed with which the police and the public prosecutor’s office acted in this case, a worse outcome may have been prevented,” police and prosecutors said.
“The Limburg public prosecutor’s office ensured the necessary court orders and arrest warrants very quickly, allowing us to act swiftly,” said LRH police chief Philip Pirard.
“Among other things, thanks to the efficient cooperation between the various services and organisations, we were able to identify and arrest the suspects within 24 hours. This prevented the school from possibly becoming the victim of an attack a few days later.”
The police and public prosecutor’s office stressed that they take this kind of online threat very seriously.
“Young people must be very aware of which online groups they join,” said Anna Degraen of the public prosecutor’s office.
“When they come across messages that are unacceptable, it is of the utmost importance that they report them to the police. Young people — and by extension society as a whole — must be aware that posting extremist messages and threats is completely unacceptable and will be met with the appropriate response from the police and justice system.”
