A 32-year-old man has died after being stabbed by an 18-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker while attempting to protect a woman from harassment in Antwerp’s Seefhoek district.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon on Duinstraat, where the victim stepped in after witnessing the woman being harassed. He was stabbed during the confrontation and succumbed to his injuries the following morning.
“On Sunday, around 4 p.m., the victim intervened when the suspect was harassing a woman. Then it came to a skirmish in which the suspect stabbed the victim,” said Wouter Bruyns of the Antwerp police, as cited by HLN.
Emergency services arrived shortly after CPR was initiated by a bystander and continued by police. The victim was transported to hospital in a life-threatening condition but died on Monday, according to Kristof Aerts, spokesperson for the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office.
The suspect, identified as an 18-year-old Eritrean residing in a reception center in Deurne, was arrested shortly after the attack. “The cycling team recognized the suspect based on the description. They were able to arrest the suspect. His involvement is being investigated further,” said the public prosecutor’s office.
He is scheduled to appear before an investigating judge.
A video shared on social media shows another bystander attempting to de-escalate the situation and keep the attacker calm and contained until police arrived.
🇧🇪‼️ Yesterday, in Antwerp, Belgium, an 18-year-old Eritrean migrant stabbed a man to death who had been trying to help a woman being harassed by the teen.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 27, 2025
This video shows the aftermath as another man tried to keep the knifeman calm and contained until the police arrived.
Did… pic.twitter.com/CoWPVWlrRy
“Put that knife down, listen to me. No one will come closer,” the man told the suspect. “I swear to you, no one will approach you,” he added, prompting the accused to put the knife in his pocket.
The stabbing has sparked political outrage, particularly from members of the right-wing Vlaams Belang party. MEP Tom Vandendriessche wrote on X: “This black illegal murdered a man in Antwerp with a gigantic knife. He should never have been here. Who let him in and didn’t throw him out?”
Flemish MP Filip Dewinter added: “Respect for this brave man who in Antwerp-North keeps this 18-year-old illegal black man, who just before killed another man with his knife, in check until the police arrive. Knife fights are now part of the new multicultural ‘normal’ in Antwerp!”
Authorities have not publicly commented on the suspect’s legal status beyond confirming his residence in the Deurne reception center.