Four police officers sustained minor injuries, and five individuals were arrested after authorities intervened to stop an illegal rave with around 300 participants in Gentbrugge, Ghent, on Saturday night.
A total of 50 officers arrived at the scene as a heated confrontation with the attendants emerged.
The event was held in the former Club Balmoral nightclub, set for demolition on Monday. Although the rave was planned to continue until Monday morning, police responded to the first noise complaint at 10:40 on Saturday.
Officers initially requested that the music be turned off and asked attendees to leave the premises, but these instructions were ignored.
In response, the police decided to block access to the building to prevent more people from joining the event.
Around 08:30 on Sunday, a group of approximately 100 individuals began attacking the police, throwing chairs, stones, and bottles.
Officers deployed pepper spray to disperse the crowd and called for reinforcements from all available police units in Ghent.
The rave was shut down by 10:00 as attendees left the site voluntarily. Four officers suffered minor injuries, and the wing mirrors of a police car were damaged.
Police has charged two people, while three others were let-go without charge. Drug and alcohol tests returned positive results, and one individual experiencing psychosis received medical assistance.
