Tragic Parkour Stunt Gone Wrong: Young Man Dies in Brussels Social Housing Fall

The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday to Thursday. Abdel and three other individuals attempted to enter the apartment through an open window. Surprised by the two occupants of the dwelling, they tried to flee. In the process, Abdel fell from the 1st floor and died on the spot. The three other individuals are still at large.

After this fatal fall, the investigators dispatched to the scene are trying to understand what happened. They assume an attempted burglary that went wrong. The elders of the neighborhood refuse to favor this theory. "What are you going to burgle someone who saw you born? Who knows your parents?", questions an elder gathered with others at the foot of this social housing tower where the accident occurred. And he adds: "Here these are social housing, everyone knows each other here. For me, they were playing, they were being stupid." "Doing the Yamakasi," adds another thirty-something from the group. Referring to a film featuring young parkour enthusiasts, a mix of urban climbing and acrobatics.

The window on the first floor, from which Abdel fell into the alley below, "overlooks a low wall, which itself overlooks the Rue de la Querelle after passing a parapet," reports La Dernière Heure, specifying that the height of the fall must be between 2 and 3 meters. "One day a resident fell from the eighth floor and she was fine...", recalls an elder of the neighborhood.

While the 23-year-old victim was "well known" to the police, Mourad, a 35-year-old resident of the neighborhood, assures that Abdel was not "a thug." "He did summer jobs, he was a volunteer at the Bravvo association, down here. If you had a problem, he would have been the first to come and help you, I can vouch for that. He was just a kid from the neighborhood, a bit shy, a bit reserved but very respectful. We are questioning a lot about what happened but it was not a burglary," he adds.

Pending answers, the investigation continues. The occupant of the apartment visited during the night was heard as a suspect of assault and battery resulting in death without intent. He was released in the afternoon. No charges were brought against him.