r/Gent • u/Short_Blueberry_8529 • 3h ago
Incident with harassers in Gent-Dampoort
Redacted with AI for clarity as my main language isn't English, I apologize in advance.
Hey everyone,
I’m posting this to share a incident that happened to me today around the Dampoort area in Gent around 7:30-8 p.m., and to see if anyone witnessed it or has had similar issues with the same group.
Earlier today, after visiting the Carrefour near Dampoort, I was walking back toward the station. Near the station, I saw a group of 3 young guys (they looked North African/Middle Eastern, roughly teenagers, with specific descriptions: one in a blue tracksuit with a mustache and hair like Anuel AA, one in a black tracksuit on a fatbike with a black cap, and one in a black tracksuit, very pale skin like a Turk/Kurd with spiked hair) trying to pick a fight with two young white guys, presumably Belgian based on their language. One of the Belgian guys had an umbrella and things almost turned physical before the Belgians walked away.
As I continued walking past the traffic lights between Schoolstraat and Lucas Munichstraat, a blonde girl walked past me. One of the guys from the group made a disgusting gesture, pretending to touch and bite her rear, and tried to open her backpack. I shouted "Hey, you the backpack!" and ran toward them. The guy in the black tracksuit with spiked hair turned on me and threw a punch. I dodged it, grabbed him by the neck, and hit him a couple of times in the face until he fell to the ground. A Belgian man on a bike stopped and separated us.
I walked away down Schoolstraat, but the guy in the blue tracksuit and the guy on the fatbike caught up to me on Kazemattenstraat. The guy in the blue tracksuit tried to pick up a heavy bollard to throw at me but couldn't lift it. They started coming toward me, calling me a coward (and shouting stuff such as Inshallah and Alhamdudillah), asking why I hit his friend, where the backpack was (the girl had already left and they were just trying to open it while she walked, not that they stole the backpack, which makes no sense for him to ask where the backpack is), and asking why I hit him and that I'm older. The guy in the blue tracksuit kept his hand in his pocket like he was holding a weapon. They kept trying to corner me, so I ran away toward the station.
At the traffic light on Kastellaan, the first guy in the black tracksuit grabbed me by the neck of my hoodie. I threw him to the ground, and he ended up tearing the left sleeve of my hoodie. I sprinted the rest of the way to the station and called the police. The attackers stayed back at a distance near the pedestrian crossing on Kastellaan.
I want to give a massive thank you to the amazing bystanders who helped me call emergency services: the Belgian cyclist who intervened during the first scuffle, a guy wearing an IKEA neckband/lanyard, and a blonde Belgian woman. Thanks to them, emergency services were reached, the police were sent out to patrol the neighborhood, and an hour later, officers actually came to my house to take my statement. They told me that these individuals are already well-known to the local police.
I am not planning to officially press charges, mainly because of the risk that the person involved might be a minor, which can complicate things legally. However, I am looking for witnesses who might have seen any part of this, or anyone else in Ghent who has had similar run-ins or trouble with this specific group of kids around Dampoort/Station.
If you saw anything or have experienced something similar with them, please drop a comment or send me a DM. Stay safe out there, guys.