Third shooting in Anderlecht this week leaves one person dead
There was another shooting in Anderlecht during the night from Thursday to Friday, mayor Fabrice Cumps told RTBF, in which person was killed. Local police confirmed the news.
"Last night there was another shooting, this time in the Peterbos district, at around 4.00," a police spokesperson said. "This resulted in one fatality, a man who has not yet been identified." It is the third shooting in Anderlecht and the fourth in Brussels this week.
Gang war
The Anderlecht mayor calls it "a war between mafia gangs trying to control the territory". The Peterbos district, where the shooting took place, is a hotspot of drug activity. "You don't have to be a genius to figure out that these shootings are connected," said Cumps, referring to the shooting at Clemenceau on Thursday morning that brought metro traffic to a halt.
"You don't have to be a genius to figure out that these shootings are linked"
According to Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil, the shootings frame a territorial dispute between drug gangs. Several media report a conflict between the gang operating in and around the Peterbos park and the gang operating in the Aumale neighbourhood in Anderlecht over the theft of 200 kg of drugs.
To combat the drug violence, Cumps is taking over command of the six Brussels police zones. This means that police officers from other areas of Brussels will be able to patrol in Anderlecht. Although this is a temporary measure, the new federal government plans to merge the police zones permanently.
The Peterbos district in Anderlecht, Brussels © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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