Chega leader Andre Ventura commented on Tuesday’s attack on the Ismaelita Center in Lisbon, which left two people dead, saying it was the result of an “open door” policy and “without any control.”
“The open door policy without any control led to this. Responsibility for the blood of these victims lies with the Afghan perpetrator, but it is in the hands of the government of António Costa,” Andre Ventura said on the social network. twitter.
In the first reaction to the attack, made at Chega’s national headquarters in Lisbon, André Ventura stated that situations like this require caution in responses “until the type of crime involved is understood and, before of all, taking into account that, if committed in the context in which it is committed, it may incriminate” a “crime with terrorist motives”.
“We know that this is a very serious crime, but for now, let’s see if it is related to terrorism or to some kind of religious or political connection,” he said.
Pointing out that the suspect in the attack “is an Afghan refugee”, Ventura felt that “it is necessary to find out who he is, what his connections were, what his motives were.”
“To understand whether this is the result of some kind of mismanagement, the result of some kind of radicalization, or the result of another criminal scenario that has nothing to do with this context,” he added.
The Chega leader said that “if this is terrorism, then it is extremely alarming and a sign” that other controls need to be “quickly put in place” for the entry of foreigners into Portugal.
Andre Ventura, however, pointed out that “this situation is not normal” and also “it is unusual for the place where it happened”, noting that “sometimes things have a different explanation”.
“And therefore, I think that political leaders should exercise some caution, because terrorism or not, everything decides in terms of social tranquility, social peace and public order,” he stressed.
Two people died Tuesday morning at the Centro Ismaelita in Lisbon after being attacked with a knife. The teacher of the center was stabbed in the neck and taken to the hospital.
The suspect was also wounded by a PSP shot and was taken to the Sao José Hospital in Lisbon. The man is under arrest.