BRUSSELS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- An operation by Belgian rescue services and armed police following a report of a murder in Forest, Brussels, Thursday morning led to the sealoff of a street of the capital city and deviation of public transport.
A spokesman with the Brussels police said that rescue services were deployed at 1:00 p.m. after a man of Polish origin reported that a murder had occurred in Forest, around the Place Saint-Denis.
Armed police have been seen hiding behind buildings and staking out a rooftop in the suburb of the capital.
Authorities closed a street in the neighbourhood of Forest as armed officers descended on several buildings, with local media reporting that "one or several" gunmen were at large.
The mayor of Forest Marc-Jean Ghyssels earlier said that the presence of one or more armed men was suspected in a building on the street Jean-Baptiste Vanpe.
A police helicopter was also sighted flying overhead. But a spokeswoman denied that any gunmen were hiding in the area, or that the incident was terror-related.
The STIB (Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company) announced on Twitter that there was a deviation between Forest National and Saint-denis after a police intervention.
