One person was shot dead in Saint-Gilles at around 06:00 on Wednesday morning in the same location as Tuesday's shooting. This is the third incident to take place in the area around the Porte de Hal this week.
Mayor Jean Spinette (PS) confirmed the incident while speaking on La Première radio station. He suggested that all three incidents are connected to territory disputes between drug dealers, adding that it was possible each shooting was part of a targeted attack on one particular drug dealer.
"The federal judicial police are on the scene this morning," he said.
The latest shooting took place near the Square Jacques Franck, not far from the Chaussée de Forest. Shots were fired at the same location at around 14:00 on Tuesday. At around 18:00 on Sunday, two people were seriously injured at a shooting on Rue Lacaille, not far from Porte de Hal.
'Terror tactics'
Spinette met with community members at 18:00 on Tuesday to hear their concerns about the incidents that had been taking place here and how it is affecting the community.
"By the time the meeting was over, the dealers were up and running again. They have taken our area hostage."
He denounced the "terror tactics" used by drug dealers in Brussels. "They shoot into the air with a weapon of war to scare other people, as part of a turf war. And who cares if it's Mardi Gras [Carnival on Tuesday] with children and grandmothers around?"
The Marolles neighbourhood (located on the border of Saint-Gilles) is already on high alert after a shooting on Sunday evening, which left two people gravely injured. The perpetrators reportedly fled on a scooter and are still on the run. Police are actively looking for them.
On Tuesday, another shooting occurred at the Square Jacques Franck, also close to Porte de Hal. The intersection is a well-known "drive-in" spot to buy drugs. No one was injured and police followed the perpetrators to Anderlecht, where they were stopped.
Separately, a stabbing occurred in the city centre at around the same time as the second shooting on Tuesday, which resulted in three people being injured. However, the incident has so far been deemed unrelated to the firearms incidents in Saint-Gilles and Marolles.
