Four people, three minors and one adult, were arrested following a fatal stabbing in Mol (Antwerp Province) on Saturday night in which an 18-year-old was stabbed to death. A dispute over a vape is believed to have escalated leading to the fatal stabbing.
The morning after the incident, police arrested three suspects: two 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old. Last night, a fourth suspect, an adult, was also arrested. He was released on bail after questioning.
More arrests may follow, as the judicial investigation is still ongoing ‘and we are still in the process of identifying other individuals involved,’ said Robert Lehaen of local Mol police.
That investigation involves a classic door-to-door, the police officer explained. Witnesses are being sought and statements taken in order to piece together the full picture of what exactly happened last weekend.
‘In recent years, this street has no longer really posed a problem for us. Its reputation used to be very different, but since 2016 and another fatal incident, a lot has changed for the better here,’ the officer noted. However, restaurant and bar owners point to the lack of cameras in the area.
‘It's true that the cameras aren't working at the moment because the neighbourhood is being renovated. But I want to qualify that,’ says Mayor Wim Caeyers. ‘There is a private camera fitted to a shop at the spot where the boy was stabbed. So that didn’t work as a deterrent.’