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Brussels mayor demands more resources after three shootings in two days
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Brussels mayor demands more resources after three shootings in two days

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • The mayor of Brussels' Saint Gilles district called for increased resources to combat drug-related violence after three shootings in under two days.
  • One shooting targeted a police station, while another injured a man and a third occurred near a residential area.
  • The mayor stressed the need for reinforcements, not quick fixes, to address the escalating crime.

The mayor of Brussels' Saint Gilles district, Jean Spinette, has urgently called for more resources to tackle a surge in drug-related violence plaguing the Belgian capital. His plea comes after three shootings occurred within a 48-hour period, one of which was directed at a police station.

We need a daily presence. The King's Prosecutor's Office in Brussels desperately lacks resources: the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is short 80 investigators. There are no more available places in juvenile detention centers. I make a sincere appeal: I don't need quick solutions, we need reinforcements.

— Jean SpinetteThe mayor of Saint Gilles district in Brussels highlights the severe lack of resources for law enforcement and calls for urgent reinforcements.

"We need a daily presence. The King's Prosecutor's Office in Brussels desperately lacks resources: the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is short 80 investigators. There are no more available places in juvenile detention centers. I make a sincere appeal: I don't need quick solutions, we need reinforcements," Spinette stated following the latest shooting near Porte de Hal. Local media reported a bullet lodged in a home's window, terrifying the occupant.

The previous night saw another shooting in the same district, leaving a man wounded in the leg. Earlier, on Friday night, shots were fired at the Anderlecht police station, with two suspects escaping on electric motorcycles. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in that incident.

The traffickers are fighting over the sales points.

— Jean SpinetteThe mayor identifies drug turf wars as the cause of the recent shootings.

Spinette attributes the shootings to turf wars among drug traffickers vying for sales points. He emphasized that while police are actively seizing drugs and making arrests, these efforts are insufficient. The mayor is demanding resources comparable to those allocated to Antwerp, another Belgian drug trafficking hotspot, including 80 additional CID officers, to conduct thorough investigations and dismantle criminal networks.

The Police work tirelessly seizing drugs and arresting people, but that is not what we need today.

— Jean SpinetteThe mayor argues that current police efforts are insufficient to address the root causes of the escalating violence.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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