Shootings surge as drug gangs torment Brussels

ByBruno Boelpap Reporting fromBrussels.

Key points

• The rise of drug-related violence in the Belgian capital echoes the situation of other European cities such as the French port of Marseille.
• Last Monday night, drug gangs turned Salvatore's pizzeria in Brussels into a crime scene.
• There are more than 200 drug-dealing points throughout the city, according to the police.
• Although he insists his city has not reached the same level of violence, jurgen de Landsheer notes gangs in Brussels are now adopting methods seen in Marseille.
• De Landsheer notes some of the residents his men arrest are as young as 12, and that makes it particularly dangerous for the whole community.

"We dropped to the floor. I had clients eating on the terrace with children. Look, we can see the bullet impacts everywhere."

His restaurant sits on a pretty little square in St Gilles. It's a central area of the city, close to the international Midi train station, where passengers arrive on trains from London and Paris.

Shootings related to drug trafficking have become routine in the Belgian capital over the past couple of years. There were over 100 in 2025 alone, and more than 65 shootings so far this year.

This was the third shooting in this neighbourhood in just three days.

"Are we in an American gangster movie? This needs to stop, " Salvatore notes.

Notably, a suspected drug dealer was shot in the leg in the same area the day before.

Now Murielle and her dog Chéva are sitting at that exact spot, just throughout the street: "We can still see the trace of the pool of blood." Murielle is 70, and hopes peace shortly returns to her street.

"I like it here. It's like a little village inside the city. Even the drug dealers applied to be polite and decent. I would just tell them to go further away and they'd say, 'Yes, ok mama!'".

Drug dealing is happening in plain sight here. Only five minutes after I arrive, I witness a transaction.

In practice, a buyer walks up to the seller, shakes their hand, and walks away with the drugs. Crack has become widely consumed amongst the poorest in this area of Brussels.

"Things have changed in the past six months, " notes Murielle. "The business has intensified. Sometimes you even see consumers queuing to purchase drugs. And now gangs are fighting over this spot."

For context, a successful drug-dealing point in Brussels nets up to €50, 000 ($58, 000; £43, 000) per day or more for the dealer, according to the chief of Brussels South Police, Jurgen de Landsheer.

Organised crime in the Belgian capital has become significantly more violent, he notes.

At the heart of it all is funds. There are more than 200 drug-dealing points throughout the city, according to the police.

Notably, the rise of drug-related violence in the Belgian capital echoes the situation of other European cities such as the French port of Marseille.

Cocaine has become widely available in Europe, the continent's ports serving as entry points for the drug. The port of Antwerp, just 40km (25 miles) away, has seen record cocaine seizures over recent years.

"We don't have no-go zones here in Brussels. It's not straightforward to go in some neighbourhoods, but we go everywhere. We don't want to become like some neighbourhoods in Marseille, so we'll do everything to stop it." A police station even came under attack last weekend.

CCTV footage demonstrates two men on a scooter stopping in front of the building and shooting at the door a number of times with what looks like an AK-47 before leaving on their scooter.

As it is the first time criminals have targeted police, this marks an escalation. Usually, the shootings involve rival gangs.

"We see a lot of young individuals getting paid a few hundred euros. They obtain a weapon, AK-47 or other heavy weapon, and then they secure a mission. To shoot a person in the leg, for example, or to try to kill somebody. And they obtain highly little funds for this."

De Landsheer notes some of the residents his men arrest are as young as 12, and that makes it particularly dangerous for the whole community. "The biggest danger is a stray bullet." There is no magic solution. We need prevention over repression.

Notably, the spike in shootings has forced Belgian authorities to react and, on Thursday, Belgium's interior minister confirmed that an extra 40 police officers would be deployed in the challenge area.

Jurgen de Landsheer is aware that police alone will not solve this crisis.

"There is no magic solution. We need prevention over repression. We can do our part and be present in the street, but our society additionally needs to provide a future to the young individuals, do something with them. That's the social part."

Back in St Gilles, Salvatore notes it's time for the violence to end.

"Nobody sleeps here right now. Individuals talk concerning moving out, houses are losing value." Murielle wants to believe that the worst is now behind.

"We will not be intimidated. We'll carry on living and we'll keep on protecting our lovely neighbourhood."

Taken together, the developments around shootings surge as drug gangs torment Brussels point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.