Gun violence in Brussels: four injured on Boulevard du Midi

Four people were injured in Brussels on Tuesday night after gunshots were fired on Boulevard du Midi, with two of the victims said to be in critical condition.

The shooting occurred shortly before midnight and is one of many in the last year to raise concerns about an increase in gun violence in the capital.

Saint-Gilles mayor Jean Spinette (PS) has sent an open letter about the issue to Belgium’s interior minister Bernard Quintin (MR), public prosecutor Julien Moinil, and the chief of police for the Brussels-Midi area, Jurgen De Landsheer.

The letter referred to a "trivialisation" of gun violence, which is on the rise in the municipality, and called for an immediate increase in police presence on the ground.

It referred in particular to the shots fired in Place de Bethléem last week, which hit the Les Quatre Saisons municipal school. One bullet lodged in the frame of the school office and another in the double glazed window of a classroom.

“I am happy to be the mayor who reassures people, but enough is enough,” Spinette wrote.

“The staff have been fantastic, resilient and understanding. But we need reinforcements, we need a police presence.

"It’s not possible to try to trivialise the fact that exchanges of fire with military weapons are taking place near a school.

"It’s impossible to explain to parents that their innocent children in the nursery on Square Jacques Franks or in the school on Place de Bethléem could be within range of a gang war.”

Spinette thanked the public prosecutor and police officers in the Brussels-Midi area (Anderlecht/Forest/Saint-Gilles) "who are fighting with all their might" to restore security, but said more boots on the ground are needed.

“They say it’s not possible to deploy permanent personnel in public spaces because of the large number of tasks that need to be carried out,” Spinette said.

“Certainly. But you cannot ask me to understand that in the whole of Belgium, two police patrols cannot be found to reinforce our zone and ensure a benevolent and reassuring presence on the ground. This letter is not a denunciation, it is a call for help, solidarity and awareness.”

A meeting with the interior minister is scheduled for the coming days.