Shootings surge as drug gangs torment Brussels - BBC News

This year alone there have been more than 65 shootings in the Belgian capital, as drug crime soars.

Image source, EPAByBruno BoelpaepReporting fromBrusselsPublished28 August 2026Last Monday night, drug gangs turned Salvatore's pizzeria in Brussels into a crime scene.

"We dropped to the floor. I had clients eating on the terrace with children. Look, we can see the bullet impacts everywhere."

His restaurant sits on a pretty little square in St Gilles. It's a central area of the city, close to the international Midi train station, where passengers arrive on trains from London and Paris.

Shootings related to drug trafficking have become routine in the Belgian capital over the past couple of years. There were over 100 in 2025 alone, and more than 65 shootings so far this year.

This was the third shooting in this neighbourhood in just three days.