Europe’s most dangerous train station exposes Brussels’ shortcomings – POLITICO

He immediately ran to the street and discovered that four people had been shot outside Café Taverne Astoria, located on a street behind his restaurant. Two people were killed and two were seriously injured, local media reported.

“It was shocking,” he said, “but not surprising.”

For Karim, the violence around the station has reached boiling point. If the situation doesn’t improve, he will sell and move his business elsewhere, he said. “I’m not afraid to die, but I don’t want to die here,” he added.

Karim, along with others POLITICO spoke to, are not new to crime scenes and police tape around Midi. Most of those concerned about the security situation declined to speak on the record or requested anonymity.

The candy store employee said he had witnessed everything from knife fights to “many, many” thefts.

In one day, six people entered the store and stole items from the shelves in three hours, he said. The shoplifting happened so often that he doesn’t bother reporting it to the authorities anymore.