The consequences for student Yusuf: a possibly broken nose, three stitches, and especially a major shock instead of what should have been a fun evening. It also appears that Yusuf was not the only one who was aggressively approached by a group of guys that evening.
Snow fun
Last week, students at Uilenstede enjoyed the winter weather. Yusuf responded that Wednesday, together with housemates and his girlfriend, to a message in his flat’s WhatsApp group for a snowball fight. “While throwing snowballs, we befriended a small group from the red-blue building and moved together to the grassy field near the VU Sports Centre.” A snowman-building competition by Prime Events took place there, with hot chocolate.
Several students approached aggressively
Initially, the police had started an investigation into this assault. “But other crimes now have priority,” the police later informed Yusuf. Therefore, the investigation has now been discontinued. Following his assault, Yusuf asked around in several Uilenstede WhatsApp groups whether other students also had unpleasant experiences with the perpetrator’s group. One student who wished to remain anonymous was also hit in the face (probably by the same perpetrator) after he addressed him about his aggressive behaviour. Another student, who also wishes to remain anonymous, says that he too was present that same evening with his friends at the grassy field in front of the Sports Centre. There, he witnessed aggressive behaviour by probably the same group. “That group was clearly looking for trouble.” The guys from that group threw tightly compressed snow that hit very hard and injured his friend. He also confirmed that they were destroying snowmen and throwing beer bottles.
How it went wrong
After about twenty minutes of throwing snowballs, a group of guys focused on Yusuf and his friends. Uilenstede resident Nikita Butomo (25) had already seen these guys earlier when they pelted unsuspecting passersby with hard snowballs. “I got the feeling they were looking for a fight”, Nikita says. Shortly afterward, the group also threw fireworks at the benches. It escalated when Yusuf threw a snowball and accidentally touched one of the guys. The young man walked up to Yusuf and punched him on the nose. Immediately, a lot of blood came out and his glasses lay broken on the ground.
Report filed
Fortunately, his friends were nearby to help Yusuf. Fabian Boucherie was standing on the other side of the grassy field at that moment. “When I found out what happened, I wanted to calm Yusuf and took him to theater De Landing. There he was helped very well by the staff”, Fabian recalls. Yusuf called the police to file a report and then drove with his girlfriend to the AMC, where the wound on his nose was stitched. The nose may also be broken, but it is not crooked.
‘I hope the perpetrator is caught’
A few days later, Yusuf is still thinking a lot about the incident. “I am not afraid of the perpetrator, but I would like him to be caught by the police. I think he should be punished, so that Uilenstede becomes safer and people don’t think they can just get away with this here,” he says.