Man injured in drive-by shooting in Brussels

The investigation into the incident is still ongoing. Recently there has been a series of shootings in the capital that are linked to drugs. Whether or not this is the case here remains to be seen.

The Mayor of Vorst Mariam El Hamidine (Francophone green) was in the vicinity when Monday evening’s incident occurred. She told the Francophone public broadcaster RTBF that she was returning from a Police Council meeting when she saw that there was no public transport. Ms El Hamidine saw that there was a police cordon and asked the officers present what was going on. They told her that shots had been fired from a car at a man that was waiting at a bus stop.

The Mayor added that “The man that was standing at the bus stop sustained injuries to his leg. He was taken to hospital, but his condition is not life-threatening”. 

The Brussels regional news platform Bruzz reports that two men first got out of the car and attempted to drag the man that was waiting at the bus stop inside. During the struggle he was hit several times. It was only once the attempt to drag the man into the car failed that he was shot in the leg twice.

After having hit their victim a couple more times the assailants are reported to have left the scene. The police arrived shortly afterwards. 

The First Minister in the Brussels Regional Government Rudi Vervoort (Francophone socialist) has convened a meeting for next Monday of the Regional Security Council to discuss the escalation of drug-related violence in the capital. Mr Vervoort calls on all parties to “work together more closely to ensure security and that people in Brussels, wherever they might live, are protected”.

Mr Vervoort adds that the escalation in drug-related violence necessitates measures to be implement in the entire Brussels-Capital Region rather than just in the drug “hot spots” such as certain metro stations, the Hallepoort area, the Marollen, the Ninoofsepoort and the Peterbos Estate.