A police officer walks near a police fence blocking off an investigation area at the “Cite du Peterbos” neighbourhood, where a man was killed overnight in a new shooting linked to drug trafficking in the municipality of Anderlecht, Brussels, on February 7, 2025.
NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
The Belgian capital has recorded 57 shootings in the first seven months of 2026.
Brussels is on course to record another grim milestone in gun violence, after 57 shootings were registered across the Belgian capital during the first seven months of 2026.
The escalating violence is predominantly linked to drug-trafficking networks, many of which draw recruits from migrant communities.
Figures from the federal police show that the incidents, spread across the Brussels-Capital Region’s 19 municipalities, left two people dead and 21 injured by the end of July. If shootings continue at the same pace, the annual total could exceed last year’s figure of 101.
The latest spate of violence has included at least four shootings over the weekend, highlighting growing concerns about the spread of drug-related organised crime.
Early on Monday, August 24th, police were called to Chaussée de Forest in Saint-Gilles at around 2.40 a.m. following reports of gunfire. Officers found an injured person, administered first aid, and arranged hospital treatment. Two suspects were subsequently arrested near the scene.
The incident followed a shooting in Saint-Gilles on Saturday evening in which one man was injured. Mayor Jean Spinette said the victim’s injuries were not life-threatening and linked the attack to drugs-related crime.
On Sunday morning, a bullet struck the window of an apartment near Porte de Hal.
On Friday night, gunmen opened fire on a police station on Rue Démosthène in Anderlecht. The building was struck by bullets, although nobody was injured. Two suspects reportedly fled on an e-scooter.
The attack prompted an angry reaction from Belgian conservative politician Matthias Vanden Borre. In a post on X, he wrote:
Police station in Anderlecht shot at with weapons of war. But in Brussels nobody has a problem?! Our capital is in a deadly downward spiral of violence and political impotence.
Politiecommissariaat in Anderlecht beschoten met oorlogswapens
Brussels chief prosecutor Julien Moinil described the attack on the police station as evidence of a clear intention to undermine state authority. He has previously warned that anyone in Brussels could become the victim of a shooting, while arguing that many attacks are ordered from inside prisons.
The two fatal shootings recorded so far this year occurred in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in January and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in July. Both were reportedly connected to the drug scene.
Despite their promises to tackle crime, Belgium’s establishment parties have evidently failed to do so.
Brussels Minister-President Boris Dilliès said the government would not allow organised crime to take over the city. Measures include appointing a Brussels drugs commissioner from September and restricting the use of e-scooters, which officials say are frequently used by criminals.
The government has already turned to the military for support. Since April, soldiers have been patrolling Brussels metro and railway stations alongside police.
Zoltán Kottász is a journalist for europeanconservative.com, based in Budapest. He worked for many years as a journalist and as the editor of the foreign desk at the Hungarian daily, Magyar Nemzet. He focuses primarily on European politics.
