Brussels records 57 shootings so far in 2025, including 20 this summer
Brussels has recorded 57 shootings so far in 2025, including 20 since the start of summer, Brussels public prosecutor Julien Moinil said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to Moinil, 6,211 adult suspects and 874 minor suspects have been arraigned at the public prosecutor’s office this year—a threefold increase compared to 2024. That includes 1,250 suspected drug dealers.
Addressing the wave of violence in the capital, Moinil stressed that efforts are under way to track down and arrest all perpetrators. He added that the murder clearance rate in Brussels remains extremely high. “One should not think that justice is not doing its job, but 10 or 20 years of laxity is not fixed in one day.”
"10 or 20 years of laxity is not fixed in one day”
Lack of resources
The prosecutor reiterated the need for additional resources to more effectively combat drug trafficking and related violence. “We are working very hard as police and public prosecutors to tackle this phenomenon, but we are being held back in our work at various levels,” he said.
While the prosecutor’s office has gained some extra magistrates, Moinil said he would not thank the government “for simply complying with the law by filling our legal framework.” He noted that the Brussels federal judicial police continue to face a major staff shortage.
Moinil also called for a comprehensive health policy to address drug abuse in the capital. Security in prisons must be tightened so that leaders of criminal organisations cannot continue directing their networks from behind bars, he said, adding that foreign nationals without residence permits who are arrested for crimes should be deported much faster.
Police at the scene of a shooting in the Peterbos quarter in Anderlecht, Brussels, in February. © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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