The Brussels North Local Police Service has begun an investigation into an incident of homophobic violence committed aboard a bus in the municipality of Schaarbeek. The incident in which a gay man and a trans woman were physically assaulted happened on Monday afternoon. The two victims tell of their ordeal on social media.
They say that they were on the 66 bus heading towards the centre of Brussels on Monday afternoon when they were approached by 2 men that asked them repeatedly in French if they were gay. When they confirmed that this is the case the 2 men became aggressive.
"The bigger of the 2 attacked my friend and hit her on the head. I started filming straight away. The man that was assaulting my friend threw an e-cigarette towards my head and started to hit me as well. I tried to defend myself, but then they both attacked me. Another passenger saw that one of them had a knife”.
Other passengers intervened and brought the victims to safety at the front of bus. However, the two assailants continued to threaten them until the got off the bus. The victims were treated in hospital for their injuries.
Homophobe violence
In a statement the Brussels North Local Police Service said "We were called out to a case of homophobic violence on bus 66 on the Rogierlaan. A patrol car went to the scene straight away and the victims were cared for by the emergency services. We ensured that they we able to report the incident to a police officer that had received suitable training in dealing with this kind of case from the Victim Support Unit”.