According to the doctors at the hospital, I got off lightly with only external damage and a severe concussion,
the victim said, nos.nl reported Saturday.
A woman was severely assaulted in the Belgian municipality of Baarle-Hertog after she asked a boy to stop setting off fireworks near her workplace. The father of the boy allegedly struck her to the ground twice and kicked her in the head, according to nos.nl.
The incident took place last Saturday near a cafe in Baarle-Hertog, showblad.nl reported. Lonneke, who works in the local hospitality industry, confronted a child who was detonating fireworks by the entrance.
Moments later, a man stepped out of a delivery van bearing Dutch license plates. He rushed at the woman, dragged her to the ground, and repeatedly struck her in the face, according to showblad.nl reports.
The victim’s husband witnessed the attack from inside the cafe and ran outside to intervene. He told regional newspaper BN DeStem that he tried to calm the attacker down, but described the man as acting like a trained kickboxer who also subjected him to physical blows, nos.nl reported.
Photographs shared by the victim on Facebook show she sustained a black eye along with injuries to her elbow, hand, and behind her ear. According to accounts cited by showblad.nl, her face was covered in blood following the assault.
The suspect and the boy fled the scene in the delivery van. Both the victim and local officials confirmed that witnesses recorded the Dutch license plate number and captured video footage of the suspect, nos.nl reported.
Baarle-Hertog Philip Loots condemned the violence as completely unacceptable in remarks reported by showblad.nl. The municipality sits just south of Tilburg, entirely surrounded by Dutch territory, and has long attracted shoppers from the Netherlands seeking fireworks that remain illegal across the border, nos.nl noted.
Mayor Loots stated that approximately 95 percent of customers visiting for fireworks originate from the Netherlands. He added that residents face persistent issues between August and the New Year, including illegal parking, public urination, and verbal aggression, according to nos.nl.
The political party of Mayor Loots, the N-VA, submitted a legislative proposal earlier this year seeking to ban the sale of heavy fireworks. The measure aims to restrict categories F2 and F3 fireworks so that, following mayoral approval, items are sold exclusively to professionals and ignited only in designated safe zones, nos.nl reported.
The victim stated her intention to formally file a police complaint regarding the assault, while local police noted they could not comment on the case prior to an official report being lodged, according to nos.nl.
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