Fire Targets Moroccan Man’s Home in Antwerp, Four Dutch Suspects Arrested

A fire broke out in the night of Friday, November 29, 2024 to Saturday in a residential building located on the Sint-Bernardsesteenweg in Hoboken. A violent explosion, audible as far as the Antwerp Ring, woke up the residents around 2:45 last night. "A powerful firework was launched against the entrance door of the residential building, which damaged it," confirms Kim Bastiaens, spokesperson for the Antwerp police. The damage caused by the fire at the bottom of the entrance door testifies to the extent of the fire: cracked glass... This damage has been covered with cardboard.

Alerted, the police immediately arrived at the scene of the fire. It establishes a large security perimeter before proceeding to the temporary closure of the Sint-Bernardsesteenweg between Zwaantjes and the Rector Vermeylenstraat. On site, the laboratory of the federal judicial police and the DOVO demining service carry out analyzes. Subsequently, four individuals of Dutch nationality, including two minors, were arrested. "The suspects will first be questioned. Furthermore, it will be examined whether there is a link with the facts. The circumstances are the subject of an investigation," says Kristof Aerts, spokesperson for the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office. An investigation is underway to shed light on this case.

Meanwhile, the building’s residents are in shock. "I don’t know why our front door was targeted, I don’t have problems with anyone," says the first-floor resident reached by phone. He is currently in Morocco and should return to Belgium next week. "I’ve had to deal with drugs in the past, but that was in 2016. Since then, I’ve had no more connection with that. I’ve changed my life, I have a good job and I don’t have problems with anyone," he insists.