A 36-year-old Dutchman has been arrested in Belgium after a police officer was shot dead outside a cafe.

Amaury Delrez, 38, died in hospital from a gunshot wound after being called out to a disturbance outside a cafe in the town of Spa at around 2am on Sunday.

Belgian media reported that a group of Dutch visitors had been barred from the premises and were leaving in a taxi when police arrived. Delrez, a father of three children, was hit by a shot fired from inside the cab.

The suspect, named as Ivo T., was arrested a few hundred metres from the scene of the incident at around 9.30am. He was reported to have been shot in the stomach by police after he opened fire.

Police have been continuing to pursue at least one other suspect using a search helicopter and dogs.

The incident happened a few hours before the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, where thousands of Dutch fans gathered to cheer on racing driver Max Verstappen. The 500 police officers held a minute’s silence before the race.

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel and King Philippe visited the town later in the day. ‘An attack on a police officer on duty is an attack on our democratic society,’ Michel wrote on Twitter.