One person who is a suspect in the deadly shooting which took place in Laeken on Saturday night has been arrested, the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Monday afternoon.
Two different shootings occurred in Brussels over the weekend. One took place in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode while the other happened in Laeken. Just before midnight on Saturday night, the police received a call about shots being fired on Rue Steyls, where the emergency response team found a severely injured man. The victim, born in 1995, died from his injuries at around 00:20.
The perpetrator or perpetrators were on the run but one suspect has now been arrested. "The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office can confirm that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the offences committed in Laeken," spokesperson Martin François said.
The suspect, a 26-year-old man, was put under suspicion for acts of manslaughter and for carrying a licensed weapon, without a prior licence and was later placed under an arrest warrant.
However, François noted that the initial elements of the investigation showed that the offences were committed by several perpetrators. "The investigation to identify the other perpetrators of those acts is still ongoing." No further comment will be given on possible other suspects in the interest of the investigation.
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At this stage, no information suggests that the two shootings were related. The victim of the Saint-Josse shooting, a 28-year-old man, was seriously injured and is still in critical condition in hospital.
The shootings are the latest in a series of drug- and gun-related violence in Brussels: a spate of shootings in and around Saint Gilles in February shook the general public earlier this year. There have already been 21 shootings across the city this year in comparison with an annual total of 85 in 2022 and 108 in 2023.
