Five wounded in Brussels shooting include European Parliament assistant

Five people were injured in a shooting in Avenue de la Toison d'Or on Wednesday evening, Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone announced.

Brussels police said there was nothing to indicate the attack in the busy shopping street was a terrorist act, report local media.

Among the injured was a Swedish woman working for an MEP in the European People’s Party, reports Swedish public media SVT, based on information from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Swedish EPP lawmaker Tomas Tobé wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “One of our employees has been injured in a shooting in Brussels. Terrible. The person in question is currently receiving treatment, the situation is not considered to be critical. Relatives of the person have been notified.”

Police spokesperson Ilse Van de Keere said: “We received a report of a shooting that occurred on Avenue de la Toison d’Or around 7.30 pm. Our services went immediately to the scene. A perimeter was set up.”

One of the victims was found near the Galerie Toison d'Or, a second near the Apple Store and a third in Rue des Chevaliers, report local media.

The perpetrator, or perpetrators of the shooting, had fled the scene before police arrived. The deputy public prosecutor referred the charge of attempted murder to an investigating judge who visited the site on Wednesday evening with a police forensics team and ballistics expert.

Ixelles mayor Christos Doulkeridis also attended the scene.

According to Belga news, several judicial sources confirmed the shooting could be drug-related score-settling.

Photo: ©Belga