There were riots in Hamburg on Halloween night – the police used water cannons against rioters. The police were also on duty in Berlin on Tuesday evening with a larger contingent. The emergency services said on the platform X, formerly Twitter, that pyrotechnics were occasionally thrown at passers-by and passing vehicles. There were no major incidents in other major cities in Germany until the evening. In many places, people in costumes marched peacefully through the streets and called for trick-or-treaters.
The situation in Hamburg was tense. Initially 150 to 200 mostly young people gathered in the Harburg district. Their number then rose to 300 to 350. Firecrackers were thrown at emergency services, the spokesman said. The police tried to push back the crowd with water cannons. The situation was not out of control. There were arrests or detentions. A number was not initially available. It was unclear whether there were any injuries.
Riots in Hamburg
A dpa photographer reported that the police repeatedly asked the mostly young people to leave the area. When they did not comply with this request, water cannons were used. There were also incidents in the Lurup district in which, according to the police, around 50 young people were involved. They set off firecrackers – windows of a retail store were damaged and garbage containers were set on fire. A year ago, young rioters had already caused a major police operation.
In Berlin, passers-by and emergency services were occasionally pelted with firecrackers or shot at with pyrotechnics, the police said. “Someone didn’t understand Halloween. The first advertisements have been written.” In Frankfurt am Main, the police reported that there had been occasional firecrackers and egg throwing. “Without any major incidents,” said a spokesman. According to the respective operations centers, the situation in Leipzig, Cologne and Munich was calm.
In many places in Germany, Halloween was peaceful. Halloween probably has its roots in Celtic mythology. According to tradition, ghosts and demons wreak havoc in autumn. The festival is celebrated today on the evening before the church feast of All Hallows’ Eve, the feast day on which Catholics remember the deceased.
