A bus operated by Flemish public transport company De Lijn was shot at near the Basilica of Koekelberg on New Year's Day. The bus driver and passengers on board did not sustain any injuries.
The bus line R14 travelling from the Flemish town of Aalst to Brussels-North station was shot at near a park on the border between the Brussels communes of Ganshoren and Koekelberg, bus driver Gino Heyvaert Verano said on social media.
"My first day at work [this year] stopped mid-way on a bad note," he wrote. "At around 20:05, my bus was shot at near Parc Elisabeth. Five to six shots were fired." Three shots hit the windshield. "Where is this heading to?" he said.
Police suspect that the shots were fired by an air gun (a pistol which fires pellets using compressed air). The bus driver was able to safely pull over his vehicle, which had 12 passengers on board at the time of the incident. No one was injured in the shooting.
Credit: Gino Heyvaert Verano
Both De Lijn and the Brussels-West Police confirmed the incident. An investigation into the exact circumstances is ongoing. Heyvaert Verano, who was left in a state of shock, is on sick leave until Saturday.
From bad to worse
Stefaan Laroy, regional secretary of the ACOD Vlaams-Brabant union noted that, while bus drivers are confronted with verbal aggression every day, in recent years, physical violence has also been on the rise. "They used to throw eggs and soda cans, later it became stones and now it's bullets. Although this is fortunately very rare, it is going from bad to worse," he told VRT NWS.
As a result, filling bus driver job vacancies has become more challenging. "I suspect the aggressive incidents have a lot to do with that. And those who are newly employed often quit quickly."
Unions at De Lijn are asking management to put pressure on politicians so that perpetrators are tracked down and punished. "But that will be a difficult job since the driver did not see which direction the attack came from."
Brussels transport operator STIB's vehicles have also been damaged in recent days. 11 trams and four buses had several windows smashed on New Year's Eve after they were hit by projectiles. A passenger on one of the buses was injured by glass shards. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
