Four minors beat up a man in his thirties in Bruges on Saturday night in what appears to be a random act of violence. The 31-year-old photographer from Sint-Kruis is still in an artificially-induced coma.
The cause of the beating remains unclear. The victim was passing over the Burg square in Bruges around 05:00 on Sunday morning, after which he was asked for a cigarette by four teenagers in the Breidelstraat, according to De Standaard.
Seemingly without cause, the young men attacked the victim with heavy blows and left him unconscious on the terrace of restaurant Tompouce.
The victim was later found by a group of people who immediately notified emergency services. He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries that for a long period had the man fighting between life and death.
His condition is now said to be stable, even if he is being kept in an artificial coma in the hospital.
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The four perpetrators were caught thanks to CCTV footage. All were Bruges residents aged 14 to 16. The suspects were brought before the judge for juvenile offenders last weekend and were then sent to an institution, according to attorney Patty T’Jonck.
Random violence
Mayor Dirk De Fauw said it was “purely senseless violence”, which he deeply regrets.
“We cannot tolerate this in our city. Fortunately, there were very good images of the facts, which led to quick identification of the perpetrators.”
According to De Fauw, the teens had already tried to stop several cyclists in the run-up to the incident, but without success. “Of course, they may have used that request for a cigarette as an excuse to get someone to quit. It is certain that this was purely senseless violence.”
