New Year: Attacks on rescue workers in Berlin - 18-year-old dies in Koblenz
According to the police, more than 230 arrests had been made in Berlin by around 02:00 on Monday. In addition, 15 officers were injured, the police announced via the online service X (formerly Twitter). At numerous locations throughout the city, emergency and rescue services were attacked with pyrotechnics, alarm guns and bottles. According to the police, the situation calmed down again at around 03:00.
At the Neptune Fountain not far from Alexanderplatz, 500 people threw pyrotechnics at each other before midnight. When police officers intervened, they were reportedly shot at with fireworks by a group of 200 people. According to the Berlin police, several people were arrested.
In Gropiusstadt in the Neukölln district, police reported that a parked police car was shot at with a bullet bomb and damaged so badly that it had to be taken out of action. Nine arrests were also made in Neukölln after people tried to make Molotov cocktails out of glass bottles, scraps of cloth and petrol.
The Berlin fire department was also in constant action: according to their own information, the emergency services were called out more than 500 times in just a few hours, including to several fires in apartments and a garage complex in the Wilmersdorf district.
In Berlin, the police were deployed in large numbers. The fire department also increased the number of firefighters after the riots at the turn of the year last year. On New Year's Eve 2022/23, emergency and rescue services were massively attacked in Berlin and other cities. In some cases, the police had to be deployed to protect firefighters from attacks while extinguishing fires.
On Thursday, the Berlin police and fire department appealed to the public in a video published on the online platform X. "Don't attack us. Don't shoot us with firecrackers, rockets or alarm guns," it said.
In other German cities, the turn of the year was relatively calm compared to last year. In Stuttgart, the police gave an initial positive assessment of their operations around the Schlossplatz. By 4.00 a.m. on Monday, the officers had reportedly recorded around 30 charges, mainly violations of the Explosives Act. According to the police, there were no "serious incidents".
The emergency services in cities such as Mainz and Bochum made similar statements. According to the police in Koblenz, one officer was hit by pyrotechnics but remained unharmed. However, there was a tragic accident in the Rübenach district of Koblenz: an 18-year-old was fatally injured when a firecracker was set off and died despite attempts at resuscitation.
In Cologne, security measures around the cathedral were stepped up once again for New Year's Eve. According to the head of the Cologne police traffic directorate, Frank Wißbaum, around 1,000 police officers were deployed to secure the area and protect the public. The Cologne police had previously announced that they had taken three more terror suspects into custody in connection with possible plans to attack the cathedral.
The security forces in Cologne have been on heightened alert since Christmas due to a terror warning. Following the "danger warning", the Cologne police searched the cathedral with sniffer dogs on the day before Christmas Eve. No explosives were found. The Christmas masses took place in the following days under heightened security measures.
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- Despite the increased presence of the rescue force in Berlin, they were once again massively attacked on New Year's Eve 2022/23.
- Many rescue services across Germany reported attacks with pyrotechnics, alarm guns, and bottles, including the Berlin Fire Department.
- The 18-year-old who died in Koblenz was unfortunately a victim of pyrotechnics misuse during a New Year's Eve party.
- Rescue services were also targeted in other German cities, despite the relative calm compared to the previous year.
- In the Brandenburg Gate, a popular New Year's Eve destination in Berlin, rescue forces were called out several times due to fireworks incidents.
- The rescue force in Coblenz also faced challenges, with one officer injured by pyrotechnics on New Year's Eve.
- The rescue force in Berlin, aware of the past attacks, had strengthened their presence and preparedness for the turn of the year.
- Many Germans celebrated New Year's Eve in large gatherings, such as the New Year's Eve party at the Bradenburg Gate, where unfortunate incidents occurred.
- The German Twitter community was abuzz with reactions to the attacks on rescue services, expressing their concerns and support for the emergency services.
- The rescue force in Berlin reached out to the public, urging them not to attack or shoot at the emergency services with fireworks or other projectiles.
- As the clock struck midnight and the turn of the year arrived, many hoped for a safer and more peaceful turn of the year for the rescue forces.
Source: www.stern.de
