A firefighter and two police officers were attacked and injured on Thursday while carrying out an intervention in Antwerp. Two assailants were arrested.
The incident occurred during a call out for a fire in the Lange Beeldekensstraat, in Antwerp’s Den Dam district.
A police patrol that was on its way to the fire noticed a man behaving aggressively towards passers-by. He appeared to be drunk and attacked the police officers. One inspector received a strong blow to the face while another was hit in the knees and elbow. The perpetrator was eventually subdued.
Meanwhile, firefighters were already tackling the blaze, which was quickly brought under control. Outside, however, the driver of a car wanted to pass the emergency vehicles despite the ongoing intervention.
A fireman asked him to wait a little longer, but the man ignored the request and rammed into the emergency worker. Fortunately, he was only slightly injured. Police immediately deployed response teams to find the car, resulting in the arrest of the driver two hours later.
The police were able to arrest the perpetrators of both attacks.
"Violence and aggression against our firefighters and our police are unacceptable and will always be severely punished," reacted mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever. "I thank our employees for their resolute action. As a result, the authors will not escape justice."
