Brussels is facing a deepening crisis of drug-related violence, with more than 65 shootings recorded in the Belgian capital so far this year, following over 100 in 2025 alone. The situation came into sharp focus in recent days after a cluster of incidents in Saint-Gilles, a central municipality close to the international Midi railway station — where trains arrive from London and Paris — saw three shootings in the space of three days. In one incident, gunmen opened fire outside a local pizzeria while families were eating on the terrace. In another dramatic escalation, CCTV footage captured two men on a scooter shooting at a police station in the nearby municipality of Anderlecht with what appeared to be an AK-47 — the first time criminals have directly targeted police in this wave of violence.

Brussels prosecutors revealed that over the past year and a half, the city has recorded more than 150 shootings and 22 explosions linked primarily to a conflict between two rival drug gangs. Several suspects have been arrested in recent weeks, including two minors — one born in 2005, the other even younger — found carrying two military-grade weapons and two handguns. Gang leaders are believed to be directing operations remotely from Morocco, while some imprisoned members continue to coordinate criminal activity from behind bars, exploiting the circulation of mobile phones inside prisons. Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil warned starkly: "We cannot wait until a magistrate, officer or journalist is killed. By then it will be too late."

At the centre of the violence is the immense profitability of street-level drug dealing. A single successful dealing point in Brussels can generate up to €50,000 a day, according to the city's southern police chief, Jurgen de Landsheer. There are more than 200 such points across the capital. The rise mirrors trends seen in other European cities, particularly Marseille, the French port city where gang violence has long plagued certain districts. The nearby port of Antwerp, just 40 kilometres away, has recorded record cocaine seizures in recent years, making Belgium a major entry point for the drug into Europe.

Residents and community figures are pressing authorities for a response that goes beyond policing. Thomas Matei, who has lived in Saint-Gilles for 15 years, helped organise a neighbourhood protest and argues the crisis is rooted in deep social inequality. "What we are seeing is the result of the failure of our society," he said. "Drug users should not be treated as criminals — they are victims." Prosecutor Moinil echoed concerns about systemic failures, pointing to backlogs in community service sentences, a shortage of places in secure facilities for minors, and the vulnerability of undocumented migrants to criminal recruitment.

Belgian authorities have begun to respond: the interior minister announced the deployment of an additional 40 police officers to the worst-affected areas, and the government approved plans for specialised high-security detention units targeting organised crime figures before the summer recess. But police chief De Landsheer acknowledges that enforcement alone is insufficient. "There is no magic solution. We need prevention over repression. Our society also needs to give a future to young people." For ordinary residents like Salvatore, whose pizzeria walls now bear bullet marks, the message is simpler: "Nobody sleeps here at the moment. This needs to stop."