The 2018 Liège Attack

On the morning of May 29, 2018, a violent attack unfolded in central Liège. Two police officers were attacked and shot with their own service weapons, a 22-year-old student was then shot in a nearby car, and a school employee was taken hostage before police confronted the attacker. The three victims were Lucile Garcia, 53, Soraya Belkacemi, 45, and Cyriel Vangriecken, 22.

The attack

Belgian and international reporting based on prosecutors' statements identified Benjamin Herman, 31, as the attacker. He approached the two officers, attacked them with a knife, seized service weapons and shot them. He then shot Vangriecken, who was in a car nearby.

Herman moved toward the Léonie de Waha school and took an employee hostage. Staff were able to move pupils away from immediate danger. Police confronted Herman when he came out firing; several officers were wounded before police shot him dead.

Victims

Lucile Garcia and Soraya Belkacemi were serving police officers. Contemporary Belgian reporting described Garcia as 53 and Belkacemi as 45. Cyriel Vangriecken was a 22-year-old student at the University of Liège. This file centers their identities rather than treating the event solely through the attacker.

Terrorism investigation

The Belgian federal prosecutor opened the case as terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder. Prosecutors cited several elements that could point toward terrorism, including the method of attack, statements shouted during the incident and Herman's contacts with people described as radicalized.

Those elements did not produce a criminal judgment because Herman died at the scene. The Islamic State propaganda apparatus later claimed him as one of its soldiers, but contemporary reporting noted that the claim was not accompanied by evidence proving an operational relationship. Crime by Region therefore does not present organizational direction by Islamic State as an adjudicated fact.

Questions about prison leave and intelligence

At the time of the attack, Herman was serving a long prison sentence and was on authorized leave. His release became the subject of public and political scrutiny. A later Belgian oversight review reported that police and intelligence services had not made errors in collecting and sharing the information available in his file.

That finding is separate from broader policy questions about prison leave. It does not erase the fact that Herman was outside prison when the attack occurred, but it prevents the case from being reduced to an unsupported claim that one identified intelligence failure caused the murders.

The previous-night homicide

Authorities also investigated Herman's possible responsibility for the killing of Michael Wilmet the night before the Liège attack. Contemporary statements evolved as investigators worked, and there was no trial of Herman. This page therefore notes that linked investigation without using it to inflate the victim count of the Liège attack or treating an untested allegation as a separate adjudicated case.

Timeline

1. May 28, 2018
   Herman is on prison leave

   He is outside prison under an authorized leave arrangement while serving an existing sentence.

2. May 29, 2018
   Three people are killed in Liège

   Lucile Garcia, Soraya Belkacemi and Cyriel Vangriecken are killed during the attack in the city center.

3. May 29, 2018
   School hostage crisis and police confrontation

   An employee is taken hostage at the Léonie de Waha school. Herman later exchanges fire with police and is shot dead.

4. May 30, 2018
   Federal prosecutor describes terrorism indicators

   The federal prosecutor says the case is being handled as terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder while motive and possible links are investigated.

5. July 2018
   Oversight review reports no intelligence-sharing error

   Belgian oversight bodies report that police and intelligence services had not made errors in collecting and exchanging information in Herman's file.

Current status

Perpetrator identified / no trial. Benjamin Herman was identified by Belgian authorities as the attacker but died during the police response. Because there was no trial, this file does not use the language of a criminal conviction and does not convert investigative theories about motive or organizational links into judicial findings.