Shooting in Antwerp Airbnb leaves three men in danger, three suspects arrested
Police in Antwerp-Noord arrested three suspects after a fight involving gunfire in a short-term rental flat on the Van Stralenstraat on Thursday evening. One of the three injured men was reported out of danger later that day.
What happened
On Thursday 8 October, police received a call at 18.20 about a fight in which shots were fired in a flat on the Van Stralenstraat in Antwerp-Noord. The flat is rented out for short stays through Airbnb and sits near the Koninklijk Atheneum and the Rooseveltplaats, according to VRT NWS. Officers found three men inside, all described as in life-threatening danger, and they were taken to hospital. Three suspects fled moments after the incident and forced their way into a nearby building, where they were arrested. Four Ukrainian construction workers who live in the same building were not allowed back into their apartment that evening.
Police response
A police team already carrying out increased surveillance in the district arrived at the scene within one minute, according to VRT NWS, and was able to arrest the suspects. Police seized a firearm and the forensic laboratory was sent to the scene to examine evidence. The street was closed off while officers worked the location. Police spokesperson Kim Bastiaens described the setting in a statement reported by VRT NWS:
The events took place in an Airbnb.
Police did not immediately launch a search operation for other people potentially involved, according to 7sur7, which reported the incident on Friday morning.
- Police receive a report of a fight in which shots were fired in the Van Stralenstraat
- Police team on increased surveillance arrives and arrests three suspects
- One of the three injured men is reported out of danger
- 7sur7 reports one of three victims is out of danger, with no update on the other two
Victims and condition
The three injured men are aged 20, 22 and 28, according to 7sur7. De Standaard reported on Thursday evening that one of the victims was out of danger later that evening, while two remained in life-threatening danger. 7sur7 reported on Friday that one of the three victims was out of danger, and no new information was available on the condition of the other two. Police said at least five of the six people involved in the incident are in their twenties, which matches the ages of the injured men and the suspects.
Open questions
The circumstances that led to the shooting remain unclear, and police have not yet established the context of the fight. A forensic investigation is continuing at the flat, and officers are working to determine the precise sequence of events. Police have said the investigation is ongoing and that the suspects are in custody. Reports from the scene did not indicate whether any other people were involved beyond the six people identified in the early police accounts.
