The Brussels Prosecutor's Office will hold a press conference on Tuesday at 14:30 regarding the increase in gun violence since September 2021.
The police attributes this rise to drug-related score-settling in the Brussels-West, City of Brussels/Ixelles, and Brussels-South police zones.
In Molenbeek, which has seen 13 shootings since September, the Mayor met with the Interior Minister, Annelies Verlinden to discuss solutions to the violence that has beset her municipality.
Investigation protocol
A spokesperson for the Prosecution highlighted the way in which police investigate these types of crimes. This begins with collecting testimonies and hearing out witnesses from the neighbourhood.
A ballistics expert is then requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office when shots have been fired, in order to draw up a report on the scene of the events.
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Finally, shell casings and firearms discovered by the police are systematically seized and analysed by the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (INCC).
However, as collecting testimonies from the relevant people is difficult, the bulk of evidence police possess only comes from scientific evidence.
What are they currently doing?
Belga News Agency has reported that these cases have been marked as 'priority' by the police and the judicial system.
Furthermore, the Brussels' Prosecutor Office have regularly convened over the past month with the competent police services to assess the situation and discuss what measures need to be implemented in order to curb these crimes.
And, according to the Office, they have increased police presence in certain neighbourhoods, with the intended aim of reassuring the population.
