New shooting near Clémenceau metro station in Brussels leaves one person injured
Another shooting occurred near the Clémenceau metro station in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. One person was injured.
The shooting took place around 03:30 and the perpetrator used a handgun, said Brussels Prosecutor Julien Moinil and the Anderlecht mayor Fabrice Cumps (PS) on RTBF radio on Thursday morning.
"One person was injured, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was transferred to hospital," confirmed the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office. His life was in danger, but his situation has since stabilised.
They immediately went to the scene to conduct an investigation with the federal police lab and a ballistics expert. Some bullet casings were found.
"The suspects were able to flee but they are being actively traced," the Public Prosecutor confirmed in a press release. "The investigation is ongoing to clarify the exact circumstances of what happened. The investigation will have to determine whether there is a link to yesterday’s shooting."
This is the second incident in two days in Anderlecht. Unlike on Wednesday, metro traffic was not affected by the incident, although one entrance to the metro station was closed, said Brussels public transport operator STIB.
"In 24 hours we had three shootings: two in Anderlecht and one in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. We don’t know who we are dealing with, we have two suspects who are believed to be on the run at the moment," said Moinil. He added that the shootings are linked to a territorial dispute between several drug gangs.
"How many deaths will it take for us to have a reaction proportionate to the seriousness of the situation? Drug trafficking has become so widespread that the money involved is so great that wars are raging," he said. "It is vital to take a firm stand on the attractiveness of drugs in Brussels."
A resident wearing a sweater ’Anderlecht 1070’ written on it, pictured near the Clemenceau metro station, which is closed off after a shooting this morning, Thursday 06 February 2025. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Moinil added that he was shocked by the incidents. "You know when you go to work, you take the underground, you see weapons of war... I can imagine how shocking that can be. And what you may not know is that, in reality, there is a bullet hole in a child’s bedroom in the next street. I saw the photo and the bullet hole in the wall of the child’s bedroom. So a family is waking up in the morning with a bullet hole in their child’s bedroom."
Before this latest shooting, Moinil said he had already summoned the chiefs of the six Brussels police zones and the judicial police to "ask for an analysis, to find out who these gangs are." While they "have some identifications, it is still very vague on certain points."
"However, I urgently need more police, because all these shootings mean a considerable workload."
Previous shootings
On Wednesday, a shooting occurred at the Clémenceau metro station at 06:15. Images from surveillance cameras now circulating online show two people carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and brazenly opening fire outside the station before fleeing into the Clémenceau metro station. A manhunt was held in the Brussels metro tunnels, but the suspects have not been apprehended.
On the other side of Brussels, another shooting also took place on Wednesday: two were injured by gunfire in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode around 01:25, confirmed the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office. Whether the incident is linked to the Anderlecht shootings is not clear yet.
"Police forces were called to several gunshots in the Rue de la Prairie in Saint-Josse. The perpetrators managed to escape," Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Willemien Baert told Belga News Agency.
One of the two injured people was found at the scene, while the other presented himself at the police station with a gunshot wound to the leg. "Both were taken to hospital but their lives are not in danger."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
