Belgian Driver Guilty of Seven Murders in Carnival Tragedy; Brutal Assault in Ostend

A Belgian court has found Paolo Falzone guilty of seven murders and 79 attempted murders for driving his BMW at extreme speed into a carnival procession in Strépy-Bracquegnies in 2022, though the jury did not retain the aggravating circumstance of premeditation. In a separate incident, police in Ostend are searching for three men who beat a 29-year-old man half to death with a baseball bat in an apartment building entrance hall.

The Strépy-Bracquegnies Carnival Tragedy

On March 20, 2022, Paolo Falzone drove his illegally modified BMW Series 5 at over 170 km/h into a folk carnival procession on Rue des Canadiens in the small Walloon village of Strépy-Bracquegnies, Hainaut province. The crash killed seven people and injured 79 others, including carnival participants known as “gilles” and spectators. One victim, Frédéric D’Andrea, was carried on Falzone’s hood for 22 seconds before falling and being run over.

According to RTBF, the jury’s verdict on June 12, 2026, concluded that Falzone acted with intent to kill but without premeditation, meaning he avoids a life sentence but faces up to 30 years in prison. Sentencing is expected on June 17.

The jury cited damning evidence in its reasoning. Falzone had been filming his speedometer with his phone while driving, holding the wheel with one hand. He had illegally modified his BMW to increase its power, calling it a “petite bombe” (little bomb) on social media. The court stated: “Paolo Falzone considers that the road belongs to him and constitutes his playground for making his stories, imposing on other users to get out of his way. All these elements attest that he made of this powerful vehicle a weapon.”

The Belga News Agency reported that the jury found Falzone could and should have braked when the procession was visible on the well-lit road but chose instead to slow down and continue filming. The court also noted he deliberately ran over Frédéric D’Andrea, who remained on his hood for 22 seconds.

As VRT NWS reported, the jury’s statement read: “It wasn’t a question of whether he would cause an accident but when.” Falzone’s passenger and cousin, Antonino Falzone, was found guilty of failing to assist 59 persons in danger, including five minors, and faces up to two years in prison.

The trial, which began on May 4, 2026, at the Lotto Mons Expo, was one of the largest in Belgian history, requiring relocation to a convention center due to the scale of the case involving approximately 200 civil parties and 269 witnesses, as The Brussels Times noted in its coverage of the trial’s opening.

Brutal Baseball Bat Attack in Ostend

In a separate case that remains unsolved, police in Ostend are searching for three men who brutally attacked a 29-year-old man from Antwerp on October 21, 2025. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the victim was lured into the entrance hall of an apartment building at Cardijnplein by a man with a thin mustache carrying an orange bag. Once inside, out of sight of security cameras, a second man with a dark beard stormed in wielding a baseball bat.

A third accomplice arrived seconds later but was too late — the first two had already fled with the baseball bat and the victim’s orange bag. A worker eating lunch in his car nearby saw three young men running from the building and discovered the victim bleeding on the floor.

The victim suffered severe brain damage and lay in a coma for days, hovering on the edge of death. Police spokesperson Simon Fiers told KW.be: “He lay in a coma for a long time and only narrowly survived the attack. Moreover, he will suffer permanent damage.” Due to his brain damage, the victim remembers only fragments of the incident and cannot recall what was in the orange bag or how he knew the man with the mustache.

Police suspect the three attackers had been scouting the area for 30 minutes before the attack and that the victim may have been lured to the location to avoid witnesses. A possible criminal transaction, such as a drug deal, has not been ruled out. Authorities are appealing for information via the free hotline 0800 30 300.

Legal and Public Safety Implications

The Falzone case has established a significant legal precedent in Belgium regarding the use of a vehicle as a weapon constituting intentional homicide. The distinction between murder and assassination — which would have required premeditation and carried a life sentence — was central to the trial. The Ostend attack, meanwhile, highlights the vulnerability of individuals lured to isolated locations and the severe consequences of targeted violent crime.

Both cases underscore ongoing concerns about public safety and justice in Belgium, with sentencing in the Falzone case expected to bring some closure to the victims’ families, while the search for the Ostend attackers continues.