However, it is here that two of the last shootings have taken place listed in the Brussels region. On Sunday evening, a 17 -year -old teenager was injured in the street adjacent to the park, one of the places, among others, in the grip of increased violence since the start of the summer.
“Each Brussels resident can take a lost bullet. It is unacceptable”: 20 shootings shaken the capital this summer
“Here we are all shocked”
It is almost noon. Some regulars are already installed on the terrace of “Café du Parc”, located just opposite the Bonnevie Park. “”Here, we are all shocked by the events of the past few days“, Sets a regular who lived in the neighborhood for twenty years. Like all the passers -by met this Tuesday, the witness does not wish to communicate his identity. To protect himself.”This is the new generationhe continues. They are no longer afraid of the police, they are no longer afraid of anything, there is only the profit that interests them.“It is true that the series of shootings is all the more challenged since it took place only a few tens of meters from the police station of the Brussels-Ouest police zone.
Inside the park, several men are seated, in the shade. “”We rest for a few minutes, but we will leave, we do not stay here“Explains one of them.”It’s dramatic, here there are children, the elderly, imagine if a ball is lost“Explains this resident who deplores insecurity in the neighborhood.”If we talk, we fear being targeted in turn and taking a bullet too“, He continues.
An employee of the Brussels general prosecutor’s office involved in a drug and money laundering traffic network
“The police and the state don’t care, they do nothing”
For this resident, the problem is clear: the measures taken to fight against this crime are insufficient. “”The police station is right next to it, the police see everything that is going on. But she doesn’t act“, He deplores. “The police and the state don’t care, they do nothing”. During our visit, we were still able to observe some police cars that patrolled the neighborhood.
Besides, this Tuesday noon, the place seems rather calm, with the exception of a few cries of children playing. “”Sometimes the park is very busy, and among passers -by there are thugs“Explains a local resident. A little further, a mom pushes her daughter on a swing.”I would not come here at night, that’s for“, She reacts. Despite everything, she is optimistic.”I think that in a few years, it will be better, there is hope.“
The victim of the shooting in Molenbeek is a 17 -year -old teenager
Three police patrols
A few dozen meters from the Bonnevie Park, there is also the municipal house of Molenbeek. The bourgmestre acting on the town, Saliha Raïss (Vooruit), is therefore one of the privileged witnesses to the climate of tension that settles in the district. “”We no longer feel safe, we discover a new form of crime“, Land on the manager. I expect a drop in attendance at the park, which is very harmful because it is precisely planned to accommodate associations and families, especially during holidays, when some do not have the opportunity to go on vacation“. Since the shootings of recent weeks, an association of the town has already decided to move its activities for young people to another place.
For Saliha Raïss, violence has gone to the upper stage. “”The shootings that we have known in the past took place in the evening or at night. Now it happens in the middle of the day“, She deplores. To try to face this insecurity, the bourgmestre acting launches an appeal to the federal government.”It is almost shameful to have to deal with such absurd means“, Use Salhia Raïss. According to her, the local police area has” only “of three patrols.” Insufficient “, despite reinforcements of the federally and other Brussels municipalities.
