After violent clashes in Castrop-Rauxel, there was also a mass brawl in Essen. In the confrontation late Friday evening in downtown Essen with at least 80 people, several participants and two police officers were injured, said a spokesman for the police control center on Saturday. Several people were taken to hospitals. The police were deployed with strong forces and a helicopter.
The police are now checking whether there is a connection to confrontations with several injured people in Castrop-Rauxel, around 30 kilometers away, in the past few days. The police stations in both cities are “in close contact,” said a spokesman for the responsible Recklinghausen police.
A dispute among extended families is suspected to be the cause of the dispute. According to the responsible chief public prosecutor, Carsten Dombert, said on Friday the reason was to be found in the interpersonal area. Those involved in Castrop-Rauxel are said to have known each other, and some were neighbors in an apartment building. So far there is no evidence of a criminal background.
According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, it is said to be a dispute between two large families, which is said to have been triggered by a dispute among children. Interior Minister Herbert Reul had previously said there were indications that the case in Castrop-Rauxel could have something to do with the clan milieu.
The brawl in Essen happened around 9:30 p.m. on Friday in front of a restaurant. According to the police, several onlookers were added, so that more than 110 people were recently on site. Iron bars and knives were later found at the site. The police were on duty until well after midnight.
A police spokeswoman spoke of several hundred people in the area of the confrontation. The situation was “very dynamic” and was not just limited to one square, but shifted to the inner city area. There were also uninvolved night owls on the go.
In both cities, the police increased their presence and reconnaissance efforts to prevent further confrontations. This has already had an effect in Castrop-Rauxel. There the police broke up a gathering of more than 100 people early on Friday evening with a large-scale operation, without violence erupting. The police had previously received information from local residents. Dangerous items such as knives, machetes and a firearm were seized during the searches.
Two groups attacked each other in Castrop-Rauxel on Thursday evening. At least seven people were injured, some seriously. A homicide squad was formed. According to the police, the Friday night group was “obviously related to Thursday’s altercation.” The first incident involving around 20 people had already occurred in Castrop-Rauxel on Tuesday.
The “enhanced measures” would be continued in the coming days, “because we at least have to assume that they may want to meet again,” said the spokesman in Recklinghausen. Additional reconnaissance forces are deployed at “neuralgic points” in Castrop-Rauxel.
