Webbekom (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Mayor Dries Deferm of Nieuwerkerken was robbed on Sunday evening while attending the Tomorrowland festival in Boom, authorities confirmed Monday.
He was struck in the head multiple times and briefly lost consciousness. He said,
“My cervical vertebra is cracked,”
on Facebook. An investigation has been started by the public prosecutor’s office in Antwerp, Belgium.
The Belang van Limburg newspaper reported that the robbery occurred on Sunday night at around one in the morning, and VRT NWS received confirmation from the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office. Nieuwerkerken’s mayor, Dries Deferm (CD&V Plus), suffered injuries.
The prosecutor’s office claims that young people riding scooters attacked the mayor. At the time, he was with two pals. Deferm and his pals’ watches were taken by the suspects.
The mayor himself responded on Facebook:
“A wonderful evening at Tomorrowland ended very badly and painfully. On the way home, on foot, two friends and I were attacked and robbed without provocation.”
“I was repeatedly beaten, lost consciousness, and had to go to the hospital for treatment,”
he continues.
“There, I was stitched in several places, and it was also determined that a vertebra in my neck was cracked. I will therefore be sidelined for the foreseeable future.”
What security measures were in place at Tomorrowland, and will they be reviewed as a result?
The festival worked closely with local authorities and fire services to enhance safety protocols, including heightened inspections, emergency response readiness, and crowd management strategies to ensure attendee safety.
Security included thorough checks at entrances with bans on dangerous or prohibited items (e.g., weapons, glass, cans, fireworks, drugs) and strict enforcement of zero tolerance on illegal drugs. Bag and person searches were routine to enforce these rules.
Emergency plans were actively reviewed and adjusted in response to the fire incident, aiming for effective crisis management including fire prevention, evacuation procedures, and rapid emergency response.
