Nicholas Mockford was shot dead outside a restaurant in Brussels

A British businessman named Nicholas Mockford by Sky News sources, who was a 60-year-old executive at Exxon Mobil, was shot dead outside a restaurant in Brussels under mysterious circumstances on October 14, but the news of his killing emerged only yesterday when the Belgian police disclosed the information of his death.

The Belgian police said that Nicholas Mockford was shot four times, as he left an Italian restaurant in Neder-over-Heembeek, a suburb of the Belgian capital, accompanied by his wife. The horrifying incident took place at 10 pm when Nicholas Mockford was walking with his wife Mary from the Da Marcello restaurant on Rue de Beyseghem towards their car, which was parked nearby.

Mockford’s wife was attacked several times by an attacker who aimed to grab her handbag. Mary Mockford was struck many times on her face. A second attacker fired at Nicholas Mockford and shot him four times and left him lying on the floor, while his wife Mary was left beaten and covered in blood, cradling her husband and shouting for help.

The two attackers are understood to have been carrying helmets motorcycle helmets and they allegedly fled by foot before taking a ring road on a “two-wheeled vehicle”.

Belgian police is investigating the case, not ruling out remote possibilities such as carjacking too although nothing was stolen from Nicholas Mockford’s car.’

Nicholas Mockford was the head of marketing for interim technologies for ExxonMobil Chemicals, Europe. He has been dwelling in Belgium since a few years along with his Belgium wife.

A family member who wished to remain anonymous said, “We are all confused about what has happened. Nick was a genuinely lovely, clean-cut, mild-mannered, family man. He was shot so calmly and so quickly, it smacks horribly of a professional hit, but we can’t fathom why. He isn’t the type to cave in to blackmail and it just doesn’t compute.”

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