Brussels Sees Third Shooting in 48 Hours Amid Rising Narcotics-Related Violence

One man was injured in a shooting in Brussels’ Saint-Gilles municipality Saturday evening, just a day after gunmen targeted a police station in Anderlecht. Saint-Gilles Mayor Jean Spinette told Belga news agency the victim didn’t suffer life-threatening injuries and linked the incident to narcotics-related crime. The shots were fired on a square known as “place des Deux Bancs,” associated with drug trafficking. The attack comes one day after shooters carrying a heavy weapon targeted a police station in another Brussels municipality, Anderlecht, before fleeing on an e-scooter. The violence marked “yet another wake-up call” for the Belgian capital, the region’s Minister-President Boris Dilliès reacted on X. “We will not let organized crime take over our city,” he added. Dilliès said his government was taking measures to address the violence, including by appointing a Brussels commissioner for drugs, who will take on the role from September, and by restricting the use of e-scooters, which he said “unfortunately, are often used by criminals.” The city’s top prosecutor Julien Moinil said that, given the target of Friday night’s shooting, “there is a clear intent to undermine authority” — but he added that “they will not succeed.” He explained that a lot of shootings are ordered from inside prison, calling for secure zones where phones cannot operate. A third shooting followed early Sunday morning, when a bullet hit the window of an apartment near Porte de Hal. Brussels recorded 57 shootings in the first seven months of 2026. Two people were killed and 21 injured, according to VRT.