Fugitive Terrorist Who "Chickened Out" Of Paris Attacks Was A Regular In Brussels' Gay Village
The 26-year-old Belgian fugitive who continues to evade European officials after taking part in the tragic terrorist attacks that affected Paris last Friday was reportedly a regular visitor of the gay village near his home in Brussels.
The Irish Mirror reports Salah Abdeslam was seen often in CCTV footage taken from gay bars in the area, known to locals as Jacques Quarter, in the months preceding the Paris attacks. Since he was "renowned for a string of one night stands with women he met," officials believe he may have been in the gayborhood trying to scope out targets or steal official documents with which to travel.
Abdeslam has been identified by French police as the "eighth attacker," and it is believed that he was the driver of the vehicle that dropped three terrorists, including his brother, off near the bar where the group gunned down 30 people before committing suicide.
Investigators believe Abdeslam intended to take his own life in the coordinated attacks Friday but wound up not following through for reasons unknown. According to cell phone records, he had made a call to friends in Brussels begging them to "rescue" him while the massacre at The Bataclan theater unfolded.
“It is possible he panicked or chickened out of killing himself. It is possible that he was disgusted by what he had been involved in or that his explosive suicide belt failed to detonate," a French police source told The Independent.
A friend of Abdeslam's who spoke with The Mirror said he'd seen his friend in Brussels as recently as Tuesday.
“I met Salah on Tuesday night. He is here in Brussels but not for long. He told me that he had gone too far," he said. “He is now overwhelmed by what happened and cannot give himself up because there will be consequences for his family.”
Officials now believe Abdeslam is not only on the run from police but ISIS as well. He reportedly fears that ISIS may harm his family if he is taken into custody.
