The suspected mastermind behind the shooting incidents on Avenue de Roovere in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in July has been identified, but has not yet been arrested because he is currently in another country, Mayor Catherine Moureaux said on Tuesday evening.
Moureaux made the announcement during a meeting of the municipal council in response to a question from a resident.
The resident, who lives in social housing, spoke of continuing insecurity in the neighbourhood after two shootings on 24 and 25 July.
The first shooting damaged the entrance to a building at No. 14 but caused no injuries. In the second, one person was shot in the arm, though the victim’s life was not in danger.
“Today, fear has taken hold in our neighbourhood,” the resident said, adding that she had first had to alert the media before the local authorities reacted. She called for lasting measures to tackle drug trafficking in the area.
Moureaux defended the municipal authorities’ response, saying police reinforcements had been deployed from July onwards with support from the federal police, who remain active in several neighbourhoods.
Between 1 May and 26 August, police recorded 21 official reports and ten judicial arrests in the area concerned.
Across the wider police zone, 397 drug-related arrests were recorded up to 1 October, according to Moureaux. Of those, 349 suspects were referred to the public prosecutor’s office and 112 arrest warrants were issued.
The mayor also said around €3 million had been invested in video surveillance.
Dirk De Block, the alderman responsible for Molenbeek’s public housing, said cameras in the neighbourhood would be repositioned to make them harder to sabotage and that cooperation with tenants would be strengthened.
The resident warned, however, that the drug trade appeared to have shifted to other building entrances.
