Anderlecht (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A Kalashnikov weapon attack near the Anderlecht Clemenceau metro station occurred on February 5, 2025, but nobody was harmed during the attack.
On Wednesday, February 5 2025, at 6:15 a.m., a shooting took place at Clemenceau metro station in Anderlecht. Police found no victims after the attack as the gunmen, who wielded a Kalashnikov weapon, ran into South Station tunnels from the metro system. The closures affected metro lines 2 and 6 between Hallepoort and Ossegem and tram lines 4 and 10 between Berkendael and Lemonnier.
“The camera footage shows that a Kalashnikov was used and that the perpetrators fled in the Clemenceau metro station,”
The police said. The perpetrators fled via the metro station tunnel in the direction of the South Station.
For that reason, the metro tunnels are closed between Ossegem and the Hallepoort. Tram lines 4 and 10 are also interrupted between Berkendael and Lemonnier, MIVB reports on X.
“The police are looking for 1 or more suspects near the Clemenceau metro station and are proceeding thoroughly,”
Says MIVB spokesman Guy Sablon at Bruzz.
“We are looking for multiple suspects,”
Confirms spokeswoman Sarah Frederickx of the Brussels-South police zone.
“It concerns a small group of people, possibly 2 or 3 persons. It is not supposed to be terrorism, but it may be a shooting in the drug world.”
What is the history of drug-related violence in Anderlecht?
The northern Brussels district of Anderlecht saw an increase in drug-related violence during recent years, so Clemenceau metro station became one among several spots known for violence. Two people died at the site of a December 2024 shooting near the Aumale metro station. Earlier in October 2024, four shootings occurred in Anderlecht within a week, prompting regional authorities to designate Aumale as a drug “hotspot.”
They implement drug hotspot measures that involve higher levels of police presence together with surveillance systems, including cameras and road barricades, to stop drug peddlers from entering. A total of 35 shooting incidents occurred in Brussels during 2024 as drug trafficking networks became linked to rising instances of gun violence.
