Young man (19) who walked around Vives campus with an airsoft weapon, must appear in court

On 7 October last year, the police in the Vlas zone received a report of an armed man who was said to be on the grounds of Vives University of Applied Sciences. A student had seen V. get out of a De Lijn bus with what looked like a firearm and alerted the emergency services. He came to the scene en masse, cordoned off the grounds and searched all the buildings. However, the suspect was able to escape and was only caught in Avelgem hours later. The man was in pre-trial detention for three days, but was then admitted to a psychiatric institution. He had been struggling with mental problems for some time “The public prosecutor has asked the council chamber for the internment, but his lawyer asked for a counter-expertise,” the prosecutor said. “That is why the case is referred to the criminal court, which can still decide to have the man interned.” The suspect is still in a mental institution.