The leading Belgian virologist has been living in a safe house with his wife and twelve-year-old son for almost three weeks, and he is guarded by agents of the security services.
While scientists around the world are under attack during the pandemic, the danger facing Professor Mark van Ranst is more serious than most.
He was targeted by the far-right soldier Jürgen Konings, who wants to take revenge on the virologists for the lockdowns introduced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Konings (46), a military shooting instructor, is on the run, carrying a machine gun and a rocket launcher, and the police cannot find him.
The search for him has been ongoing since May 17, when Konings allegedly stole an arsenal of weapons from a barracks.
"The threat is very real. An ex-soldier, armed to the teeth, was in front of my house for three hours, waiting for me to return from work," Professor Van Ranst, who has been hiding since May 18, told the BBC.
A group was created on Facebook to support the former soldier. Before it was shut down, it had about 50.000 members. That scares Van Ranst more than the attackers themselves. "These are people who really think that this man is a hero and that I deserve to die"
Mark van Ranst usually returned from work at the time Konings was waiting for him.
However, he returned earlier that day and was at home with his family.
"Unfortunately, it is a trained sniper with heavy weapons. These are people you wouldn't want to be hunted," Van Ranst told the BBC.
He can't go outside, or even go near the windows, which speaks to how tightly the security services keep his location a secret.
Despite the threat to his life and the oppressively strict circumstances in which he lives, the virologist, who has become the most famous Belgian figure in the fight against the pandemic, is extremely calm.
"We are not scared, we are just careful. My son is quite brave. The whole situation is pretty surreal, but it's better to know what's going on, so at least I can take these precautions. The only thing that drives me crazy is that my son has been in the house for three weeks," Van Ranst told the British Public Service.
Belgian authorities have described Jürgen Konings as a very dangerous man, ready for violence.
He was already on the terrorist list in Belgium because of his extreme right-wing political beliefs.
In the message he left for his girlfriend, he said he was ready to fight the police and that he might not survive," Brussels media reported.
"The so-called political elite, and now virologists, decide how we will live. They sow hatred and frustration. I can't live with lies," Konings wrote.
At a time when it is easy to blame the bearers of bad news, Professor Van Rast believes that his situation was somewhat inevitable.
"If you're on television several times a day for months, people get sick of you. It is inevitable. There is a group of people who hate science and scientists. They are very often scared and insecure," said Van Ranst.
A few days after Konings disappeared, a support group for the ex-soldier was formed on Facebook. Before it was shut down, it had about 50.000 members.
That scares Van Ranst more than the attackers themselves.
"These are people who really think that this man is a hero and that I deserve to die." They are the people who live in your neighborhood, and they bet when Konings will kill me, and with how many bullets”.
Hundreds of Belgian police, helicopters and military trucks are involved in the search. Authorities have admitted that they have had no information about Konings since the day he disappeared. They also say that it is possible that he is already in another country.
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