Call to "behave" at carnival to recall fatal stabbing last year in Horst

In the Limburg town of Horst , pins with the inscription "gedraag ow!" (behave yourself) are distributed on Carnival days. In addition, a large tarp with the inscription #GedraagOw was hung up. This was an initiative of the friends of Guus Janssen from Horst, who was stabbed last year. The call recalls Carnival Monday a year ago in the northern Limburg town, where a fatal stabbing brought the festivities to an abrupt end.

Vrienden doodgestoken Guus uit Horst lanceren campagne #Gedraagow
"Het is niet de eerste keer dat nabestaanden op de barricaden staan om zinloos geweld een halt toe te roepen. „Die aandacht blijft nodig. De wereld is verhard”" pic.twitter.com/HtsaBv9Nbj

— ErwinSmits (@SmitsErwin) February 2, 2023

A pin with the inscription was presented to Limburg folk singer Beppie Kraft during a live broadcast on regional station L1 when she performed for hundreds of people enjoying the music of Limburg artists. The audience was asked to behave at this Carnival to avoid a repeat of last year's fatal stabbing.

Last year on Carnival Monday, 21-year-old Janssen was stabbed to death on Sint Lambertusplein by a 19-year-old man from neighboring Tienray. The reason for the fatal stabbing was a joking remark made by a Carnival worker. The man from Tienray then pulled out a knife and stabbed Janssen in the abdomen. The victim bled to death on the spot. Incidentally, Janssen was not the one who had made the remark, but another. In October, the court sentenced the 19-year-old to two years of juvenile detention and juvenile TBS.