Unknown assailants opened fire on a house in the Antwerp district of Merksem. There are no reported injuries, but the identity and motive of the shooter remain unknown.
Police received a report at around 06:45 on Wednesday morning about an apartment building which had been shot at in Distelhoek in Merksem, a northern district of the city of Antwerp. The exact timing of the incident is still unclear.
The resident who called the police reported that he discovered bullet holes in the front door of his apartment building. There are no reported injuries. However, the shooter, who remains unknown, is on the run.
The motive also remains unclear. An investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances while the forensic lab will visit the scene of the shooting to investigate.
Like Brussels, Antwerp has also experienced a spate of shootings and bombings in recent years, mainly targeting homes. Most of these are thought to be drug-related, linked to the city's location near the Port of Antwerp, one of the main gateways to smuggle drugs into Europe.
At the end of last year, new police figures confirmed that the number of drug-related offences in the province of Antwerp increased by around 30%, reaching the highest level ever.
