Another shooting had taken place late Thursday night in the Anderlecht Peterbos district in Brussels, killing one person, according to a statement issued by Fabrice Cumps, the mayor of the Brussels commune.
Police spokesperson Sarah Frederickx said, “Last night, shots were fired again in the commune, this time in the Peterbos district around 4 am.” An unidentified man has died. To ascertain the circumstances, an investigation is still underway.
It comes after three shootings that occurred in Brussels over the course of two days this week: two in Anderlecht and one in Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode.
The shooting incidents are being looked into as part of a larger feud between drug gangs.
The most recent shooting occurred in a different part of the municipality, while one person was shot in the leg on Thursday in the Clémenceau neighborhood (Anderlecht). Philippe Close, the mayor of the City of Brussels, said on Wednesday that he intended to implement “unity of command” in order to address the violence caused by drugs.
In order to help police the municipalities in the Midi zone (Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles, and Forest), the Brussels-Capital-Ixelles police zone will begin patrolling Anderlecht and the area south of Brussels on Friday.
Brussels has become a very dangerous place in some neighbourhoods with crime gangs trying to gain territory, sometimes performing proper executions on the open street.
Drug Violence and Uncontrolled Migrants can be Behind Recent Incidents
In recent years, drug-related violence in Brussels has increased. A total of 130 people were injured and seven people died in 2024. According to statistics, there are roughly 20 violent crimes in the capital each month that have a connection to drugs. These include assaults, kidnappings, shootings, and stabbings; the list is lengthy, but the police only see the very beginning.
“Shootings, settlements of accounts, that’s the Marseille style,” stated Steven Decraene, editor of France for the Belgian news organization VRT. “The Marseille Method is discussed.”In 2023, this was properly executed in the heart of the Anderlecht borough of Brussels. After being stopped in his vehicle, a 31-year-old man was shot at least 17 times. The infamous borough of Molenbeek is where the burned-out getaway car was later discovered. Police in Marseille regularly deal with this particularly violent situation.
VRT’s sources claim that there is a direct connection between the criminal environments in Marseille and Brussels as well as their methods of operation.
“What transpired in different suburbs is intolerable. According to French liberal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt, there are unmistakable signs that the Marseille Maffia is attempting to infiltrate from their stronghold in Peterbos, Anderlecht.
They are attempting to take over territory from other gangs, including Moroccan and Albanian ones, from their stronghold in Peterbos. There are unmistakable signs.
Kamel “The Hammer” Nabti, a formidable drug lord from Marseille, was taken into custody in Brussels towards the end of 2023. Between 2015 and 2018, he allegedly controlled the cocaine trade there. He engaged in a bloody turf war with another drug gang there. After that, he fled, but was apprehended in October at a residence close to the Brussels South Station. Given that he had had plastic surgery and taken on a false identity in the interim, that was no small accomplishment. He carried on operating his company in Marseille from Brussels.
It’s all about territory, both here in Brussels and in Marseille. Two clans with the notorious names DZ Mafia and Yoda engage in a brutal turf war in the north of Marseille. There are smaller, distinct gangs in Brussels that have ties to the Mocro Mafia, the Albanians, and the Marseille gangs.
They attempt to demarcate their territory by using violence. For instance, a chair that dealers used to try to sell their goods was literally involved in the deadly shooting in Sint-Gillis. Although it sounds almost ridiculous, there are serious repercussions. Smaller shrimp, frequently undocumented individuals, children, and even minors, are frequently the targets of open violence. The major drug lords maintain a far more covert presence, frequently not even residing inside the country.
A True Hotspot of Crime: Brussels South
The metro beneath the southern railway station, Brussels-Midi, is a staple when it comes to busy, dangerous locations in Brussels.
In 2024, there were multiple violent incidents near the station. A stabbing occurred inside the metro station in April, and a shooting at a nearby café claimed two lives in June. Another shooting near the station’s opposite exit in August injured one person. And that doesn’t even include the drugs, shoplifting, and gangfighting.
As he later focused on a crucial problem impacting Midi station and the capital more broadly, City of Brussels Mayor Philippe Close told POLITICO, “The situation is dramatic.” “The biggest issue in Belgium is that everyone says they are not responsible for this.”
The portal also interviewed a number of business owners and employees in and around Brussels Midi about their experiences with local crime, as well as authorities regarding the problematic station.
Authorities blamed one another for the security lapses, while workers criticized politicians and law enforcement for failing to address the issue or for not being present.
During a February visit to Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, the king of Belgium voiced his concerns. A spokesman for the king, who was contacted by POLITICO, stated at the time that he “is always concerned about societal challenges in Belgium,” but he would not comment on a policy issue.
According to data released in 2023, Midi saw about 3,500 crimes annually between 2018 and 2022, with theft, extortion, and drug-related offenses being the most frequent. That is nearly equal to the total number of stations in all 13 Flemish cities.
When POLITICO inquired about the rise in crime at a hotel near Midi, the receptionist merely laughed. “What crime?” the staff member retorted mockingly. According to a station employee, he had been told explicitly not to discuss “the situation,” and he would be fired if he did.
When police did apprehend suspects, they were so swiftly released that they would return to the station later that same day, according to local staff and business owners.
