BrasschaatAlong the Bredabaan in Brasschaat, fire broke out on Sunday afternoon in the villa that was the target of an attack last weekend. Then a fireworks bomb was thrown at the house. It is not clear whether Sunday’s fire, which was quickly under control, has anything to do with this. There are serious indications of arson.
Caroline Van de Pol, Joren Wollants
29-01-23, 14:23
Latest update:
5:24 pm
Source:
Own reporting, Belgium
The fire service received a call at around 12:15 p.m. “A smoldering fire had broken out in the insulation space between the inner and outer facade of the house,” says the Brasschaat zone. “There were no residents present at the time. One room suffered smoke damage, but the house was otherwise spared.”
But that is not the end of the matter, because the same villa was the target of a fireworks bomb last week. This may have been in retaliation for attacks in Maasmechelen, where fireworks bombs were also thrown at a home a week earlier. For the facts in Brasschaat last week, a 19-year-old young man from Maasmechelen and his 18-year-old girlfriend were arrested. And… last Friday night an attack was also committed against the home of that 19-year-old in Maasmechelen.
It is not yet clear why the villa, where you can rent office space, was targeted last weekend. A link to Sunday’s fire has not yet been found, but the fire is likely to have been lit. The lab and the federal police came to the scene for an investigation. “There are indications of malicious intent. The investigation must determine whether there is a link with last week’s attack,” says Lieselotte Claessens of the public prosecutor’s office.
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