Anderlecht Police Station Attacked with Heavy Weapon: Authorities Declare ‘Red Line Crossed’

Unknown attackers opened fire on a police station in Anderlecht, Brussels, with a heavy weapon in the early hours of Saturday morning, prompting authorities to declare that a red line has been crossed. The attack, which occurred just before midnight on Friday, saw at least twelve bullets strike the facade of the former main commissariat of Police Zone Zuid in the Demosthenesstraat, according to VRT NWS.

No one was injured in the incident, as the building was closed at the time. The two suspects, one of whom reportedly used a Kalashnikov-style weapon wrapped in a white cloth while the other filmed the shooting, fled on an electric scooter after the attack.

A Red Line Crossed

Police Chief Jurgen De Landsheer of Zone Zuid, which covers Anderlecht, Sint-Gillis and Vorst, expressed deep concern over the attack. “I am very concerned. This is a red line that is being crossed. We have counted about twelve impacts. The fact that an institution like the police becomes the target of such criminals is alarming,” he told BRUZZ.

De Landsheer indicated that the attack is likely retaliation for police operations against drug trafficking during the summer. “Our actions this summer have produced good results. We take weapons and drugs off the street,” he said. “Probably those actions are at the basis of these facts. But we will not be intimidated.”

The police zone is now in consultation with federal police to secure reinforcements for personnel and buildings, while continuing operations to apprehend the perpetrators.

Prosecutors Condemn Attack on the State

Brussels Public Prosecutor Julien Moinil condemned the attack in the strongest terms. “These are unacceptable facts. Just like any use of weapons in public space. The fact that the state is made a target in the middle of the street speaks volumes about the intention of the perpetrators to destabilize the authorities, but they will certainly not succeed,” he said, as reported by La Dernière Heure.

Moinil also used the occasion to reiterate frustrations about resources, noting that the Haren prison remains insufficiently secured, that shootings are organized from within using mobile phones, and that the Brussels federal judicial police framework remains incomplete.

Anderlecht Mayor Fabrice Cumps confirmed the building was targeted with heavy weapon fire and pledged support for police forces. “All my thoughts go to the police forces who are once again directly targeted and subjected to intolerable pressure,” he said. “For now, our priority remains clear: protect those who protect us.”

Former Main Commissariat Targeted

The Demosthenesstraat building was the former main commissariat of Zone Zuid, one of the largest police stations in the country where up to 750 officers were based. The zone relocated to a new, modern police building near Brussels South Station, which opened to the public in March 2026, as BRUZZ reported.

Only a few services still occupy the old building, which the commune of Anderlecht had planned to sell for a base price of 5.5 million euros, according to RTBF.

Escalating Gun Violence in Brussels

The attack comes amid a record wave of gun violence in Brussels, largely linked to drug trafficking. In the first seven months of 2026, the federal police recorded 57 shootings in the 19 Brussels municipalities, with 2 deaths and 21 wounded - a pace that threatens to set a new record year, as VRT NWS reported. In all of 2025, Brussels recorded 101 shootings with 8 deaths and 43 wounded.

Moreover, gun violence is spreading beyond designated drug hotspots. According to BRUZZ, 63 percent of shootings in 2026 occurred outside the designated drug hotspots, up from 46 percent in 2025.

This is not the first time police in Anderlecht have been targeted. In October 2024, criminals shot at police officers after a chase, possibly with a Kalashnikov, as VRT NWS reported. In 2023, nine young people were arrested for planning an attack on the same Demosthenesstraat commissariat.

What’s Next

A ballistics expert has been appointed and the Brussels public prosecutor’s office has been informed. No arrests have been made so far. The police zone is requesting additional manpower from federal police and other Brussels zones to manage the situation in the coming days and nights.

The attack on a police institution marks a significant escalation in the ongoing violence plaguing Brussels. As authorities continue their investigations, the question remains whether this brazen assault on law enforcement will prompt a stronger institutional response to the escalating crisis of gun violence in the Belgian capital.