A year after Antwerp stabbing, Luna S. (19) breaks her silence: 'I saw no other way out'

©selcuk sarikoz via Unsplash

A year after the stabbing in Antwerp’s Schipperskwartier, 19-year-old Luna S. tells her story to Het Nieuwsblad for the first time. The woman who stabbed her attacker after he harassed her and her friend following a night out says she saw “no other way out” and that she never intended to hurt anyone.

In the early morning of June 28, 2025, Luna and a friend left a club on the Eilandje in Antwerp and got lost when their cell phones ran out of battery. While they were asking for help on the street, some men offered to escort them, but moments later the atmosphere turned hostile: a drunk man began shouting at them and eventually attacked the man who was helping them, leaving the two friends on their own.

According to Luna, the man pulled her friend to the ground by her hair, and no one nearby tried to intervene. She says she had already had a knife in her purse since a previous incident when a man threatened them with a knife, and that she pulled out the weapon when she thought she had no safe way out. Surveillance footage and the investigation later played an important role in assessing the facts.

Last month, the court acquitted Luna of attempted manslaughter on the grounds of lawful self-defense—a rare ruling in such cases. Her attorney argued that she had first tried to escape and only acted when that was no longer possible.

Luna says the aftermath remained difficult after the incident. She was afraid of retaliation, didn’t dare sleep at home, and needed time to rebuild her confidence. Thanks to psychological counseling, she is trying to get her life back on track and is looking for work again. She also emphasizes that going out should be safer for women and that fundamental changes are needed.

©selcuk sarikoz via Unsplash - illustrative image