Belgium security tightened after car tries to ram shopping area
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - A French national who attempted to drive into a shopping district in Antwerp, Belgium, on Thursday had knives, a shotgun, and a gas can in his car, Belgian prosecutors said, according to reports.
French President Francois Hollande confirmed that the driver appears to be a French national who was "trying to kill people or create a dramatic event."
The federal prosecutor's office said authorities intercepted the car late Thursday morning at the port docks. Police arrested a man, identified as Mohamed R., 39, who had been living in France.
Authorities in Belgium raised security after the incident. Police officers and heavily armed commandos were posted in several places around town.
A day earlier, a British man drove a car into pedestrians, killing three people, and stabbed a police officer to death in London. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.
One year ago Wednesday, three coordinated suicide bombers attacked Belgium, killing 33 people and wounding hundreds.
The Associated Press and FoxNews,com contributed to this report.