LAST MONDAY NIGHT, drug gangs turned Salvatore's pizzeria in Brussels into a crime scene.
"We dropped to the floor. I had clients eating on the terrace with children. Look, we can see the bullet impacts everywhere," Salvatore told reporters after the shooting.
The restaurant sits on a small square in St Gilles, a central area close to the international Midi train station where passengers arrive from London and Paris.
Shootings linked to drug trafficking have become routine in the Belgian capital over the past few years: 100 in 2025 alone and more than 65 so far this year. This attack was the third in the neighbourhood within just three days.
"Are we in an American gangster movie? This needs to stop," Salvatore added as the city decries rising gang violence.
Murielle and her dog Cheva still notice the bloodstains on the square where a drug dealer was shot the day before. Murielle, 70, hopes the area can return to normalcy: "Even the drug dealers used to be polite and decent. I would just tell them to go further away and they'd say, 'Yes, ok mama!'"
The city police say that drug dealing is happening openly; a buyer simply walks up to a seller, shakes hands and walks away with the drugs. According to Chief of Brussels South Police Jurgen de Landsheer, a single point can net up to €50,000 a day for the dealer.
Organised crime has become significantly more violent in Brussels, mirroring situations in Marseille. The port of Antwerp, only 40 km away, has recorded high cocaine seizures in recent years.
De Landsheer warned that criminals now target police outright: "A police station was attacked last weekend with an AK‑47. It’s the first time criminals have targeted police. Usually the shootings involve rival gangs."
He noted that some arrests involve youths as young as 12, increasing danger for the community. "The biggest danger is a stray bullet," he said.
In response, Belgium’s interior minister announced deployment of an extra 40 police officers to curb the problem. De Landsheer calls for prevention over repression and stresses the need to give young people a better future to stop gang recruitment.
Back in St Gilles, Salvatore and Murielle both urge for an end to the violence. "Nobody sleeps here at the moment. Houses are losing value," Salvatore says. Murielle remains determined: "We will not be intimidated. We’ll keep on protecting our lovely neighbourhood."
