- No cigarettes on offer - Man attacked with knife
After he couldn't offer a cigarette, a man was attacked and injured with a knife in Berlin-Friedrichshain, according to police. The 40-year-old and a 25-year-old companion were approached by a five-man group at the Oberbaum Bridge, police said. When the 40-year-old declined to offer a cigarette, one of the men allegedly stabbed him in the shoulder with a knife and they fled towards the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station.
Police searched for the suspects but were unsuccessful. The 40-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment. His life is not in danger. Initially, police had reported that the attack occurred at Schlesisches Tor and that there had been a fight.
Nighttime knife attack also in Hellersdorf
This wasn't the only knife attack that night: According to initial findings, a 48-year-old man in Hellersdorf got into an argument with two other men. One of the men allegedly pulled out a knife during the altercation on Alte Hellersdorfer Straße and stabbed the man in the hip before fleeing. The man went to a bar where he was treated by police and emergency services.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment. His life is not in danger. The cause of the argument is being investigated, a police spokesperson said.
More attacks this week
Earlier this week, several people were injured in violent altercations involving knives. In Kreuzberg, a man suffered a life-threatening stab wound to the abdomen when a dispute between two groups escalated. He had to undergo emergency surgery. A 31-year-old participant also suffered stab wounds to the back but was able to leave the hospital after treatment.
In Pankow, police were called to a dispute between two men aged 35 and 49 outside a doner shop. The younger man allegedly grabbed a doner knife and stabbed the older man in the thigh. The knife then fell out of his hand and onto the feet of an unrelated 49-year-old man, causing minor cuts.
The attack in Berlin-Friedrichshain happened near the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station, where the assailants fled after the stabbing. On a different street, Alte Hellersdorfer Straße, a man in Hellersdorf was involved in an argument and was stabbed in the hip during the altercation.
