Liege , Belgium ( CNN ) -- Flowers , teddy bears and candles mark the spot Wednesday where a gunman tossed grenades into a crowded Liege market square a day before , claiming several lives and wounding scores more . The mood in Place St. Lambert , a square which would normally be bustling with Christmas shoppers , was somber Wednesday as Belgians took stock of an attack unprecedented in their history . Workers at the Christmas market opened up their stalls , housed in wooden cabins , but trade was slow . One woman said they had been told they could start trading later , if they wanted first to pay tribute to the five people killed and 130 wounded before the attacker , Liege resident Nourdine Amrani , apparently took his own life . Market stall holder Julie Six-Bourgoin was still shaking as she talked about Tuesday 's attack , calling it `` horrible '' and comparing its effect on the peaceful country to that of the September 11 , 2001 , attacks on the United States . Other people in the city said that Christmas would not be the same and that they could not understand why the attack occurred . Officials say Amrani , 33 , who had no record of mental illness , hurled his three grenades and fired a pistol and semi-automatic weapon from an elevated walkway above a bus stop in the square . The attack seemed to have left the city 's people with a new sense of vulnerability , with those waiting for buses Wednesday standing back under the walkway , as if to protect themselves from another aerial assault . Chunks missing from a granite wall testified to the ferocity of the grenade blasts , with bullet holes also pocking the hard surface . One mother who was a few yards away from the gunman when he opened fire said she now feared for the safety of her children . Another recounted how her children had left school early and passed through the bus stop only shortly before it was attacked , narrowly avoiding the tragedy . In a restaurant , near-silence replaced the usual hubbub , as people appeared to withdraw into themselves , reflecting on the tragedy just a day earlier . So far , public anger over the attack seems limited . Few questions have yet been asked about how a man convicted of weapons offenses was able to get his hands on guns and grenades . The owner of one of the city 's two main gun stores , which appeared to stock dozens of automatic-style weapons , said he knew Amrani but refused to answer further questions . Police are investigating whether Amrani bought the weapons used in the attack on the black market , said Katrin Delcourt , spokeswoman for the provincial governor 's office . She said Amrani , who held a French hunting license under which he bought at least one firearm before his 2008 conviction , was skilled in using and maintaining weapons . A woman , said to be a cleaner in her late 40s , was found dead in a residence next to a workshop where Amrani once grew marijuana , local police said . But he seems to have kept a relatively low profile in the area . Neighbors of Amrani who spoke to CNN said they had seldom seen him around . One man said he had realized Amrani was a neighbor only after recognizing his picture in a newspaper . Amrani , a Belgian citizen , had been released from prison on conditional parole in October 2010 but returned to the attention of police in November this year . He had been asked to attend a police interview on the day of the attack in connection with allegations of sexual offenses , the Liege prosecutor said . So far , public scrutiny has not yet turned to why he was not arrested and brought in for questioning , given his track record . But as the city 's shock fades and investigations continue into what led him to launch his deadly gun and grenade rampage , such questions will likely come to the forefront . CNN 's Paul Cruickshank contributed to this report .
Residents of Brussels say they are shocked by the attack and fear for their children 's safety . The identity of suspect Nourdine Amrani , however , is not known , police say . Neighbors say they saw little of the suspect , who lived in Liege . He , previously convicted of arms offenses , was known to a local gun store owner .