Namur

The victim of the fatal stab wound this Thursday evening in the center of Namur is a young student of 5th professional, hotel option, at Ilon Saint-Jacques, Esteban Soltau Diaz. “A student without history, known to be the little comedian and the mascot of his class” describes Luc Bourdoux, director of the school. This Friday morning, at the scene of the events at the exit of the Wérennne gallery, rue de l’Inquiétude, several dozen young people, friends and acquaintances of the boy, gathered, laying flowers in tribute to the victim.

The drama took place shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday on the public highway, in front of several people: “I had just started my service and I saw in front of my window two young people who were fighting,” says Maria Di Stefano, owner of the snack bar “L’ilôt Pâtes”. Several people intervened to separate them, then at some point the fight resumed. “ According to other direct witnesses, a knife suddenly fell from the pocket of one of the two protagonists. One of the two, named Arthur and also 18 years old, would have picked it up, striking Esteban Soltau Diaz in the chest.

“We immediately called the emergency services and while waiting for them we compressed the wound of the injured youngster,” continues Maria Di Stefano, still in shock.

The perpetrator reportedly fled. The Namur prosecutor’s office indicated this Friday morning that a suspect was arrested during the night, around 5 a.m., in Andoy.

According to the first elements of the investigation, the case takes place in a context of romantic rivalry between the two young people. Esteban reportedly flirted with Arthur’s girlfriend recently: “Esteban knew that the other, angry, had been looking for him for several days following this and he had decided to meet him to explain himself” says Arnaud Haché, owner of the “L’Apéro” café, also located at the exit of the Wérenne gallery and where Esteban and his friends were regulars. “They were there on Thursday and Esteban left for the meeting with his rival. A few minutes after the events his friends came back to tell them what had just happened.”

The drama took place shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday on the public highway, in front of several people: “I had just started my service and I saw in front of my window two young people who were fighting,” says Maria Di Stefano, owner of the snack bar “L’ilôt Pâtes”. Several people intervened to separate them, then at some point the fight resumed. “ According to other direct witnesses, a knife suddenly fell from the pocket of one of the two protagonists. One of the two, named Arthur and also 18 years old, would have picked it up, striking Esteban Soltau Diaz in the chest.

“We immediately called the emergency services and while waiting for them we compressed the wound of the injured youngster,” continues Maria Di Stefano, still in shock.

The perpetrator reportedly fled. The Namur prosecutor’s office indicated this Friday morning that a suspect was arrested during the night, around 5 a.m., in Andoy.

According to the first elements of the investigation, the case takes place in a context of romantic rivalry between the two young people. Esteban reportedly flirted with Arthur’s girlfriend recently: “Esteban knew that the other, angry, had been looking for him for several days following this and he had decided to meet him to explain himself” says Arnaud Haché, owner of the “L’Apéro” café, also located at the exit of the Wérenne gallery and where Esteban and his friends were regulars. “They were there on Thursday and Esteban left for the meeting with his rival. A few minutes after the events his friends came back to tell them what had just happened.”

According to the first elements revealed Thursday evening duringa press conference organized by the prosecutor of the king of Namur Vincent Macq and the mayor Maxime Prévot, the facts took place around 6:30 p.m., explained the prosecutor. “Two young men from Namur who knew each other met on the spot, obviously to settle a dispute relating to a love rivalry. This resulted in a fatal blow, struck in the heart, probably with a kitchen knife. “

Victim and suspect both 18 years old

The medical examiner and the police lab went to the scene. “The victim was born in October 2004 and the suspect in May 2004said Vincent Macq. The second is currently wanted by the police. He is in stall, and recently known to the judicial services for several facts.

The king’s prosecutor, Vincent Macq, made it clear that the facts in question here are of a private nature. And to add: “The precise reasons remain to be developed in the rest of the investigation.”

An autopsy will be performed this Friday at noon.

These took place around 6:30 p.m., the prosecutor explained. “Two young men from Namur who knew each other met on the spot, obviously to settle a dispute relating to a love rivalry. This resulted in a fatal blow, struck in the heart, probably with a kitchen knife. “

An autopsy will be performed this Friday at noon.

Victim and suspect both 18 years old

The medical examiner and the police lab went to the scene. “The victim was born in October 2004 and the suspect in May 2004said Vincent Macq. The second is currently wanted by the police. He is in stall, and recently known to the judicial services for several facts.

The king’s prosecutor, Vincent Macq, made it clear that the facts in question here are of a private nature. And to add: “The precise reasons remain to be developed in the rest of the investigation.”

For Mayor Maxime Prévot, this is a dramatic loss: “This act plunges us into disarray. It is a profound shock for the families and the entire community of citizens of Namur.”

“These facts cannot, however, be anticipated by police workinsisted on asserting the mayor. We cannot know in advance that there will sometimes be a settling of scores between two people, sometimes a rivalry that will degenerate. We demand a lot from the police, but we must be aware that they cannot anticipate sudden, isolated, unpredictable actions, however terrifying they may be.”

“Not a band phenomenon”

The mayor continued: “I am not naive, I know that this drama is playing out in the heart of the city, in a district near the station, which for more than a year and a half has been subject to renewed tension.” Claiming never to have practiced the policy of the ostrich, the mayor concedes that the district is subject to gang rivalries, as well as to drug trafficking. Although the events that occurred do not fall within this framework, Maxime Prévot was firm: “I cannot be satisfied with the current climate of insecurity.”

The mayor of Namur recalled the work of the police in this area, the increase in the number of staff, the development of new technological tools such as surveillance cameras and the increase in interventions. “I asked the Namur police this morning to mobilize their federal police colleagues on a more regular basis to carry out punch operations.”

Moreover, no later than the afternoon of this Thursday, a “extensive operation” was held in the district of the station with about forty police officers mobilized. And to conclude: “Yes, there is an insecurity that is gaining ground. But I would not like this unfortunate episode to lead citizens to think that Namur is not a safe city. The police, the prosecution and myself, we are uniting our efforts to be able to wring the necks of all these shitty fuckers.”

The cordoned off neighborhood

Earlier in the evening, the police, including members of the special intervention group (GIS), descended on the scene in large numbers. The two entrances to the Wérenne gallery, the link between the Carmes district and the Place de la Station, have been cordoned off.

White tarpaulins were installed at number 29 to block the view of the many passers-by who gathered, their faces haggard.

Many witnesses and cameras

In order to reconstruct the sequence of events that occurred on Thursday evening, the investigators will be able to rely on the testimonies of the many people who have already come forward. Cameras are installed in this area of ​​the city, they may be able to learn more. “You have to see if the angle of the camera was actually directed at that precise moment towards the scene. This is one of the many duties that the investigating judge will order the police services, ”said Vincent Macq. “If this is a dramatic case, I don’t think it will be a very complicated case from a judicial point of view.”