Angry neighbor (31) shoots footballer (19) in the head with air pressure rifle: « Low in years of conflict » (Sint-Gillis-Waas)
« Our members are terrified of what the following will be. There must really be intervention, » says Marc Van Duyse, chairman of FC Hoogeinde. – © If
The Penaltycup of FC Hoogeinde in Sint-Gillis-Waas recently had a sad end. A 19-year-old football player was shot at by a neighbor, the 31-year-old TV. « The boy got the bullet in mind, » says chairman Marc Van Duyse. « We have been terrorized for years and are terrified of what will happen next. »
The facts occurred on Friday, May 9, but only became known. « It was a successful penaltycup. We received no fewer than fourteen teams, » the chairman outlined.
The football party started at 7 pm and the last football players, five young men, left home just before midnight. However, things went wrong on the access road to Molenstraat.
« We have been terrorized for years, they just want to leave here. The bullying must stop »
Marc Van Duyse
Chairman FC Hoogeinde
Bang
« I suddenly received a phone from one of the players that they were shot at. » He (The victim wishes to remain anonymous, ed.) Has a hole in his head, « they said. I was still closing in the canteen and I let them return immediately. I could hardly believe it, but it was really that way. They had heard a dull bang and a 19-year-old boy was hit back, « says Van Duyse.
The penalty cup ended in a minor. – © If
The police were alerted and an ambulance arrived. The victim was taken to the hospital, where the bullet was removed from his head. « Fortunately, he was back home the next day. He was still a bit dizzy, but especially very hard for what had happened, » says the chairman.
Sad low
The shooter turned out to be a displeased neighbor. The police arrested him and informed the public prosecutor’s office. An investigating judge demanded that, who released the suspect under certain conditions. According to the public prosecutor, the man fired from the house with the air rifle. « He is suspected of deliberate blows and injuries and the possession of an illegal non-fire weapon, » said the public prosecutor.
The facts would fit into a years of conflict between the neighbors and the club. « This is a sad low point, » says the chairman. « We have been terrorized for years, they just want to get away from here. The harassment has to stop. Our members are terrified of what the following will be. There must really be intervened. It is possible that those guests made some noise on their departure, but this is really about it. It has already left a lasting impression with them. »
Purebred neighbors’
Mayor Koen Daniëls (N-VA) is aware of the conflict. « This is a purebred neighborly fight, but in no way the actions of the suspect are good to talk. This is crapulous behavior that defies all imagination, » he says. « As a mayor I am in favor of a lively football club, where good neighbors are of great importance. »
