Each of the rapid response teams is made up of 3 highly-trained police officers. The teams were set up after the terrorist attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in the French capital Paris in January.

The semi-automatic weapons are currently the only ones of their type in use in Belgium. It is easy to compare the new guns with paintball guns as the bullets they fire are made from a mixture of paint and metal.

They can also fire projectiles filled with pepper spray. Antwerp is currently the only police service in the country that has the new guns. However, the Federal Police and a number of other local police services are considering buying the new guns.

Flandersnews.be / Expatica