Thirty young people clash at Diksmuide station: one knife confiscated, one rioter arrested | Diksmuide

A passer-by noticed the disturbances just before 5 p.m. and called the emergency number. Since several teams of the Polder police were in the area, action could be taken fairly quickly. “In the end, six teams visited the site,” says commissioner Wim Merlevede. “Two groups of immigrant and native young people turned out to have clashed with each other. In total, about 30 people were involved: both minors and adults. They were quickly separated from each other by our teams. No one was injured.”

When the police arrived, officers saw how one young person had a knife in his hand. The weapon was immediately confiscated. One rioter, a 19-year-old man, also turned against police. He was overpowered and handcuffed. “We managed to identify about half of the young people involved,” says Merlevede. “They will receive an invitation for questioning later.” At around 6.45 pm, peace had returned to the station area.

Police are meanwhile investigating the cause of the fight. Everything indicates that the incident has something to do with an earlier fight that took place on Thursday at ‘t Saam Cardijn, the former VTI. “There, too, a large group of young people came to blows. Possibly tonight’s fight was a form of revenge for those facts.” Director Bart Laleman van ‘t Saam Cardijn is bored with the case. According to the man, the fight on Thursday was related to a conflict that is situated outside the school walls.