Brussels prosecutor warns of rising drug violence after 69 shootings in 2026

Public warning from prosecution

Brussels chief prosecutor Julien Moinil convened a press conference on 28 August 2026 alongside Brussels-Midi police chief Jurgen De Landsheer and Federal Judicial Police director Eric Jacobs to address recurring drug-related gunfire. The prosecutor office reported that 69 shooting incidents have occurred across Brussels in 2026, following 102 incidents recorded throughout 2025. Across the past year, authorities counted more than 150 shootings and 22 explosions tied to territorial gang competition. Moinil stressed that gunfire increasingly erupts in populated public areas, exposing ordinary residents to severe danger.

I am a worried prosecutor. Any citizen can take a bullet, that is a reality.

Retaliatory clashes in Saint-Gilles and Anderlecht

The latest escalation began on 20 August 2026, driven by a dispute between two established narcotics rings operating in the Saint-Gilles and Forest municipalities. At 23:40 that night, individuals riding electric scooters opened fire in Saint-Gilles, leaving two spent shells and four live 9mm cartridges on the street. Two days later, on 22 August at 21:14, a 12-gauge projectile wounded a man in the leg on Rue de Montenegro, leading to the arrest of a 17-year-old Guinean national previously convicted of violent theft in January. Violence spread further during the weekend when two hooded perpetrators fired a dozen rounds from an automatic weapon into an Anderlecht police station on Demosthenes Street. On the evening of 24 August, gunfire erupted outside a Saint-Gilles pizzeria near the Brussels-Midi railway station, forcing patrons and families to drop to the floor.

Prison coordination and staffing shortfalls

Judicial investigators established that gang leaders frequently coordinate violent hits from behind bars using contraband mobile phones. Moinil cited an incident from 18 July in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek where a victim was shot four times in the back on orders issued from Haren prison by an inmate holding temporary release permits. The prosecutor reiterated demands for cellular signal jammers in correctional facilities to block communications between incarcerated kingpins and their networks. Structural resource deficits continue to hinder local enforcement operations. The Brussels prosecutor office operates with 49 magistrates out of 63 statutory posts, while the Brussels federal judicial police lacks 80 investigators and over 150 minors await placement in secure juvenile facilities.

The solution must not come only from justice.

Asset seizures and federal security review

Law enforcement operations targeting illicit drug distribution have seized 203 million euros from criminal networks since 2025. Police interventions during this timeframe also resulted in the arrest of 93 adults and 14 minors, the administrative closure of 350 commercial shops, and the confiscation of 3,500 luxury vehicles used by dealers across the capital. Moinil requested 10 million euros in dedicated supplementary funding to expand judicial investigations against overseas network directors, noting that no additional budget had been allocated. Following the attacks, Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the station shooting as an attack on state authority. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever convened a national security meeting on the afternoon of 28 August 2026 to review anti-drug enforcement.