Gunfire in Brussels killed one person Friday in what Belgian officials said was the fourth shooting in the past week believed linked to drug gangs, prompting a government vow to boost police on the city’s streets.
It was the first fatal shooting in the spate of violence in the Anderlecht and St. Josse neighborhoods. The previous three shootings resulted only in one injury. Officials said they all had the hallmarks of drug-related violence, not terrorism.
“It is more than likely that the shootings are linked,” Prosecutor General Frédéric Van Leeuw told VRT network.
Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden said police presence needs to be increased throughout the city.
“A lot of people work here, visit us. And the reality of the past days forces us to take absolutely good care of Brussels,” Verlinden said. “Criminals are extremely flexible, so if we don’t have (police) everywhere, we will fix nothing because the problem will just move somewhere else.”
There have been previous shootings in Brussels, but to have four within a week has raised alarm. Citizens’ groups have increasingly complained about lawlessness in several Brussels neighborhoods at night, and have demanded a bigger police presence.
Belgium’s port in Antwerp, 35 miles (55 kilometers) to the north, has increasingly been the center of European imports of cocaine, and has been hit by grenade explosions linked to gangland fighting. Security officials have said that the violence was bound to trickle into other cities in Belgium.
