Several strangers attacked emergency services in Friedrichshain on Saturday evening. The police announced this in the morning. According to the police, officers on patrol first noticed around 70 people who had come together at Forckenbeckplatz around 9 p.m. Shortly thereafter, about 30 of them ran to the intersection of Liebig and Rigaer Straße after a battery of fireworks had been set off there.
In the further course, the police forces were shot at around 9:20 p.m. at said intersection from the roofs of the surrounding residential buildings with firecrackers, it was said. This was repeated around ten minutes later at the cell-corner Rigaer Straße intersection, and an emergency vehicle was also hit. In the meantime, around 60 people could be found in the surrounding streets, who ran around aimlessly in small groups, according to the police.
Increasing police presence eventually led to people gradually moving away. Around 10:30 p.m., five people on Rigaer Straße fired at firefighters with pyrotechnics and sprayed the contents of a fire extinguisher in their direction. Eleven police officers were injured by inhaling the extinguishing powder, but were able to remain on duty. The attacking group escaped undetected.
About 20 minutes later, at the intersection of Liebig and Rigaer Strasse, unknown persons fired fireworks again, hitting a colleague but not injuring him, according to the report. Then the situation calmed down. During the entire course of the operation, the identities of eleven women and six men were determined as part of the security measures. In addition, according to the information, investigations into dangerous bodily harm, assault on law enforcement officials and property damage were initiated and two smokers were seized. (tsp)
