A 24-year-old Belgian young man has spoken out after being violently assaulted while walking home from a winter event in Brasschaat, near Antwerp, saying he was left with facial injuries and a broken tooth.
According to HLN, Jordy Van Riel was attacked late on Saturday night after attending WNTR Brasschaat, the annual winter event held in the Park of the Municipality. He had been out with friends and colleagues and was making his way home shortly after midnight.
Speaking after the incident to HLN, Jordy said he noticed one of his friends had drunk too much and decided to leave the winter village.
"I saw my drunk friend standing with a group and grabbing someone while laughing," he said. "We walked on, but in the park the group suddenly turned back. One of them punched my friend to the ground."
When Jordy challenged the attacker, he was quickly surrounded by four or five youths. "Before I knew it, they were all around me," he said. "I put my arms in front of my face and just took the blows. I could only wait until they’d had enough."
Jordy was taken to the emergency department at AZ KLina, where doctors treated injuries to his nose and eye socket. A piece of one of his teeth had also broken off, and his face was badly swollen.
"I had a pounding headache for two days," he said. "I had a CT scan on Tuesday morning, and I'm now waiting to hear whether my nose or eye socket is broken. Luckily, the headache has eased."
He has since filed a complaint against unknown attackers and believes those responsible could be identified through CCTV footage from the Winter Village.
"I don't understand why they suddenly reacted so aggressively," he said. Police have urged any witnesses to come forward.
