© hsb
Leuven –
A 21-year-old boy ended up in hospital on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday after being beaten on the Oude Markt. He fell to the ground unconscious.
The incident happened when the victim was going out with some friends on the Oude Markt. “The boy was hit and fell to the ground,” confirms police spokesman Marc Vranckx. “He was injured in the head.” The victim was unconscious for a moment, but was immediately helped by friends. He was taken to hospital where he required stitches, among other things.
The police were able to clearly follow the incident on the camera images of the police surveillance cameras. When they received the report via 100 immediately after the incident, the situation was immediately analyzed remotely while the emergency services rushed to the scene. “We immediately went to the scene. One patrol went to the victim. A second patrol simultaneously went to the perpetrators, who we were able to quickly identify through the camera images. They were taken to the police station before the ambulance had even left for the hospital,” said Vranckx. It concerns one minor perpetrator and one 18-year-old. It is not yet clear what caused the violence. “The investigation is still ongoing. Statements are still being taken,” said Vranckx.
More aggressive?
In the meantime, a post from a father of someone from the victim’s group of friends provokes a lot of reactions on social media. He testified about the incident, and speaks of an increase in ‘gratuitous aggression’ on and around the Oude Markt, and believes that it is often a problem for young people to receive proper help. The police deny that. “We notice that the nightlife has become a bit louder, which may give a more aggressive feeling. But our statistics do not show an increase in problems, on the contrary. The number of fights with injuries has decreased compared to a few years ago,” says Vranckx.
“Of course there are skirmishes. That’s not unusual in a place where 10,000 people gather every night to drink and party. We are therefore very present, both in uniform and in civilian clothes, to keep an eye on the festivities and to avoid problems. This is also evident in this incident, where we were able to arrest the perpetrators very quickly with the help of the camera images. For several years now we have also been able to impose a place ban. That number is also lower this year than before. “We therefore absolutely do not see the feeling of increasing insecurity translated into the figures for our interventions,” the police spokesperson concludes.