Can Brussels contain its renewed surge in gun violence after two more shootings?
Two people were wounded in separate shootings in Molenbeek and Saint-Gilles early on Monday, 24 August, while Brussels-South police apprehended two suspects near the Saint-Gilles scene.
In 30 seconds
- A man was shot in the lower leg near Belgica metro station shortly after midnight and was not in life-threatening condition.
- A second person was wounded near Chaussée de Forest in Saint-Gilles at about 02:40.
- Brussels-South police apprehended two suspects near the Saint-Gilles scene; their judicial status remains unknown.
- Police have not publicly linked the two shootings or confirmed a motive.
Two people were wounded in separate shootings in the municipalities of and early on Monday, 24 August, and police apprehended two suspects near the Saint-Gilles scene. The incidents occurred several kilometres from the EU quarter and have not been linked to the European institutions; their immediate significance is for the residents, workers and commuters confronting another escalation of firearm violence across the Brussels-Capital Region.
Shortly after midnight, officers from Brussels-West police found a man with a gunshot wound to his lower leg on Avenue Jean Dubrucq, near Belgica metro station in Molenbeek. He was taken to hospital and was not in a life-threatening condition, the police zone told . No suspect had been arrested in that investigation by the time of the latest public update.
At about 02:40, police were called to a second shooting near Chaussée de Forest in Saint-Gilles. Officers gave first aid to an injured person before an ambulance took the victim to hospital. Police apprehended two suspects during an initial search of the area, according to BRUZZ and Het Nieuwsblad. Their identities and judicial status have not been disclosed, and an apprehension does not establish guilt.
Authorities have not said whether the two shootings were connected, who was targeted or what weapons were used. Nor have investigators attributed either incident to the drugs trade. That distinction matters: organised drug markets form the context for much of Brussels’ recent gun violence, but applying that explanation to an individual case before investigators do would turn a pattern into an unsupported allegation.
Monday’s shootings nevertheless followed an exceptionally violent weekend in Saint-Gilles. BRUZZ reported that shots were fired at a Brussels-South police station on Friday evening, that a man was wounded on Saturday, and that another bullet struck the window of a home on Sunday morning. No resident was hit in that last incident. Brussels Minister-President Boris Dilliès described the sequence as an “escalation of violence” and stressed that people unconnected with drug dealing could be struck inside their homes.
The broader figures reinforce the concern. Federal police statistics reported by BRUZZ show 57 shooting incidents across Brussels’ 19 municipalities during the first seven months of 2026, leaving two people dead and 21 injured. The outlet reported 101 incidents, eight deaths and 43 injuries in all of 2025. Those counts describe shootings in the Brussels-Capital Region, not just the City of Brussels and not the EU institutions clustered mainly around the European Quarter.
Where this is happening
View on map Brussels →Local officials differ less over the seriousness of the problem than over what must change. Saint-Gilles mayor Jean Spinette has demanded 80 additional federal judicial police officers, more capacity for the Brussels public prosecutor and youth detention, and has argued that merging the region’s six police zones would not by itself stop the violence. Federal Justice Minister , by contrast, framed the response as both enforcement and prevention: investment in police and justice alongside stronger schools, neighbourhoods, social support and opportunities for young people.
Brussels-South police chief Jurgen De Landsheer told VRT NWS that the city was seeing renewed “destabilisation” after a relatively quiet summer and said recruiters must be stopped from paying vulnerable people to shoot at buildings or individuals. Brussels public prosecutor Julien Moinil is expected to address the renewed violence in the coming days. Until then, the central unanswered questions are whether the weekend incidents form part of one dispute, whether either Monday victim was deliberately targeted, and what prosecutors will do with the two people apprehended in Saint-Gilles.
What to do
People travelling through Belgica or Chaussée de Forest should follow any on-site police instructions and check their usual transport information before travelling, although no metro disruption was reported. Anyone who witnessed either incident or holds relevant footage should preserve it and contact the competent police zone rather than sharing identifying material publicly. Readers should not assume the two shootings are connected: police have not established a link or motive. Watch for announcements from Brussels-West, Brussels-South or the Brussels public prosecutor concerning charges, releases, searches or confirmed public-safety measures.
Impact
Regional — The direct impact falls on Saint-Gilles and Molenbeek residents and on the Brussels-Capital Region’s police, hospitals, prosecutors and public transport users. No disruption to metro services was reported in the available coverage.
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Voices & reactions
What the main actors are doing
Reported positions, summarised — not direct quotationsJean Spinette: investigative capacity first
Saint-Gilles mayor Jean Spinette argues that Brussels needs 80 additional federal judicial police officers, more resources for prosecutors and greater youth-detention capacity. He says merging the capital’s six police zones would not, by itself, dismantle the criminal networks behind the shootings.
Annelies Verlinden: enforcement and prevention together
Federal Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden presents the problem as organised, cross-border crime requiring stronger police and justice services, but says repression must be accompanied by better housing, education, school-attendance policies, social support and opportunities for young people.
Boris Dilliès: protect uninvolved residents
Brussels Minister-President Boris Dilliès frames the weekend’s violence chiefly as a threat to ordinary residents, stressing that bullets can reach people with no connection to drug trafficking even inside their homes. His emphasis is immediate public safety across the region.
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