Last Monday, Pro-Pain frontman Gary Meskil was robbed and nearly killed on tour in Brussels, Belgium. His family has since launched a GoFundMe account to cover his medical expenses, which has made over $11,000 within two days. Gazet van Antwerpen reached out to Meskil to discuss the events that led to his robbery and brutal attack.
He explained:
“Last Monday, I went out with Adam [Phillips, Pro-Pain guitarist] in Brussels. Adam returned to the hotel in the Stalingradlaan in the centre of Brussels, and I went for a beer in a bar nearby, around midnight. At the table next to me, there were some young guys and we started talking. It was all very friendly. Just a nice chat. After a while, I went to the bartender to pay my bill. When I returned, two of the guys I had talked to bumped into me. Then I realized that they took my wallet. I confronted them and they start hitting me. They got help from four others. They used an ice pick to hit me on the head. They kept on kicking me after I had fallen to the ground.
They robbed me of a lot of money: the fees of several shows. I lost eighty percent of my blood. The doctors said that I was lucky to make it. They even had to remove glass from my eyes, because they kicked the glasses I was wearing. My jaw is broken, and I will need multiple surgeries. I don’t know when I will be able to sing again. It can take weeks, possibly even months.”
The frontman pointed out the fact that he’s usually on guard and can sense danger but, this time around, he “didn’t see this coming.” Police have arrested a few suspects, however, no one has been officially identified.
