“I really thought he was dead…” says Lisa* (31) in dismay. Her boyfriend Kevin* (40) was knocked unconscious during New Year’s Eve in Putte. A large group of young people had thrown fireworks into their neighbor’s house and Kevin wanted to chase them away. “Suddenly he was lying on the ground, unconscious, with his face covered in blood.”
Dazed and barely realizing what happened to them, Lisa and Kevin try to share their story. Kevin’s face is covered in bruises, scabs and bruises. “He can handle very few stimuli,” so Kevin is only there for fifteen minutes.
Back to New Year’s Eve. Around ten past twelve at night, Lisa received a call from their neighbor. “He was in a panic and asked if we could drive to Putte as quickly as possible (to their home in De Beukenhof, ed.). On camera images, the neighbor saw that a brick was thrown at him and shortly afterwards fireworks followed.” The neighbor himself was in Bergen op Zoom and therefore could not get there quickly.
Together with Kevin, Lisa rushed home from Huijbergen – where the two celebrated New Year’s together. “Upon arrival, smoke was already coming out, the windows were broken and there was a large group of people around the neighbor’s house.” A group of about fifty young people, aged 18 to 25, had gathered in front of De Beukenhof.
“He was unconscious and his face was covered in blood.”
Lisa tried to open the electric central door of the former care home, but that didn’t work. When she turned around, she was shocked. “I saw Kevin lying on the ground being beaten up by six young guys. I honestly thought he was dead… He was unconscious, on his stomach and his face was covered in blood.”
To protect her friend, Lisa dove on top of him. “They didn’t do anything to me, but they just kept kicking Kevin in the stomach and ribs. I couldn’t stop that on my own.”
When Lisa tried to call 112, her phone was knocked out of her hand. That’s why it took longer for help to arrive. “I wasn’t able to provide the address until later when I called them again.” As soon as Kevin regained consciousness, Lisa and some bystanders lifted her boyfriend onto a bench.
“I’m in a lot of pain.”
At the Bravis hospital in Bergen op Zoom he was found to have three broken ribs and two bruised wrists. His liver had also been displaced by 1 centimeter due to the violence. “I’m worried about that,” Kevin sighs. “Because noises keep coming from my stomach. I’m in a lot of pain.”
There has been unrest in Putte for weeks. The reason is the possible new purpose of the old nursing home. This currently belongs to the care organization Tante Louise, but has now been sold to an investment company. He will rent the building to New Life Methods, an organization that shelters ex-addicts. Something the villagers are not happy about.
Yet, according to residents and the mayor, the explosion of violence on New Year’s Eve has nothing to do with the unrest around De Beukenhof. A resident who wishes to remain anonymous tells about several groups of young people terrorizing the village on their scooters and fat bikes. “They just have no respect. People don’t feel safe on the street. They all have a big mouth and smoke a lot.”
“What happened on New Year’s Eve in Putte has nothing to do with the protests and actions against the sale of the property, which actually took place very harmoniously and respectfully,” says Mayor Steven Adriaansen. “This is a form of violence that cannot be tolerated at all. It is good that the police are taking this investigation seriously and are calling on witnesses to the incident to make contact.”
*Lisa and Kevin are fictitious names. The real names are known to the editors.
