Burning dumpsters and eggs thrown at police officers instead of exuberant Halloween parties: riots broke out in several regions of Germany on Monday evening.
According to the police, up to 150 people gathered unannounced in Hamburg, especially in the districts of Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. When trying to break up these gatherings, stones, firecrackers, bottles and eggs were thrown at the police officers from the crowd. Celebrations got out of hand in other regions.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, emergency services were also attacked in Lünen (Unna district) – first with eggs, then with stones, bottles and pyrotechnics. According to initial findings, several small groups were involved in the actions. Individual participants have already been identified. A total of three patrol cars were probably damaged, the police officers were unharmed.
In Baden-Württemberg, around 20 young people in Friedrichshafen had it particularly bad. According to the police, they bothered local residents with noise, egg throwing and fire. When officials arrived, they were also thrown at with eggs and stones, and a mattress and a garbage can were also set alight, according to an operation report. The partially masked young people fled in different directions.
ruthlessness and malicious joy
“There’s a lot to do,” summarized a police spokesman in the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital of Mainz. According to their own statements, the officials there were called several times because Halloween celebrations escalated into fights in front of restaurants. But nobody was injured. Eggs were also thrown at houses and cars and firecrackers were shot down.
Egg damage was also reported in other towns in the southwest. Some “monsters” did not draw attention to themselves through costumes, but through “particular ruthlessness and malicious joy,” the police said there.
In Hamburg, however, a police spokesman emphasized: “You really have to state that the overwhelming majority of children and young people walked the streets peacefully. That’s also part of the truth.” In recent years, however, rioters have also discovered Halloween for themselves.
A woman in Gelsenkirchen had an unpleasant experience with a scary factor: while she was celebrating at a Halloween party, a 13-year-old broke into her house. According to the police, a neighbor had heard a rattling on the terrace. When the resident arrived home with two companions, she discovered the patio door smashed and heard noises from upstairs. In the bedroom, the woman found the 13-year-old hiding under the bed. The police handed the youth over to the youth welfare office.