Yes it could have been far worse...but when some of the hostages began to run he started shooting....police had to go into next phase of course....once the gunman began shooting it was going to go down fast and hard.
So now that this is over... it was just a lone gunman. The Belgium thing ended as well with the gunmen arrested. It was unrelated.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/belgium-hostage-drama-three-arrested-4813051