As we have covered extensively on this site -- extremists and terrorists, as characterised through the Prophetic traditions and throughout the history of Islam fit a certain profile -- they are young, foolish, ignorant and tend to come from troubled or criminal backgrounds. They are easily recruited by the extremist leaders who are in reality motivated by worldly grievances related to wealth and authority but cloak this with the cover of religion to recruit foot-soldiers for their cause.

In this case, there is speculation whether it was terrorism related and it is very easy to sensationalise and claim that it was, but the evidence is not actually clear at this point in time. In any case, we have another example of an ignorant, criminal and violent thug committing these terrible crimes.

Here are some reports about the perpetrator:

Liege, Belgium (CNN)A man who killed two policewomen and a bystander in the eastern Belgian city of Liege on Tuesday is suspected of killing someone the day before, according to the country's federal prosecutor's office.

The perpetrator -- named as 31-year-old Belgian national Benjamin H. -- was serving a jail term for theft, violence, drug abuse and insubordination to police, the spokesperson for the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office, Eric Van Der Sypt, said Wednesday. Source

According to state broadcaster RTBF Herman, who was born in 1982, had a criminal record that included a number of convictions for theft, assault and drugs offences. Source

A prisoner on day release who shot dead two police officers and a bystander in Liege on Tuesday in a suspected terrorist attack had killed another person the previous evening.

Belgium's Interior minister, Jan Jambon, revealed that Benjamin Herman, 31, committed a murder the night before? he went on his shooting spree in the Belgian city.

The victim was a former prisoner and convicted drug dealer, Michael Wilmet, 30, who was found with injuries consistent with being attacked by a blunt instrument to the head. Source

The lone wolf attacker, 36, was named locally as Benjamin Herman, who was well-known to police for a string of crimes including robbery, assault and drug-dealing and was from Rochefort, a city about an hour from Liege. Source