Patrol car on fire

Firecrackers on passers-by: Investigation against teenager

Police officers confronted an out-of-control crowd in the German city of Aachen. Officers were targeted with firecrackers and rockets. A patrol car caught fire.(Bild: Screenshots/TikTok)

Long before New Year's Eve, the unauthorized setting off of firecrackers and rockets led to several police deployments and smaller fires in Germany. In Berlin, young people threw pyrotechnics at passers-by from an apartment. In Aachen, a tuning meeting escalated completely.

Drivers from the tuning scene threw firecrackers and pyrotechnics into a crowd of people and against police officers at a meeting in Aachen.

Highly aggressive drivers
According to the police, around 2000 participants with several hundred vehicles attended the meeting on Sunday night. One patrol car caught fire. During the course of the evening, many members of the scene behaved increasingly recklessly, with some becoming highly aggressive, according to a police statement. No one was injured. The officers eventually broke up the meeting and launched an investigation into numerous violations.

In the German capital Berlin, two young people threw firecrackers at passers-by and drivers from an apartment in Potsdamer Strasse. Both are being investigated for violating the Explosives Act and causing grievous bodily harm.

Group targeted a pub
In Pflügerstraße in Berlin-Neukölln, youths damaged a pub with fireworks. In addition, a rainbow flag had a burnt hole in it and a chain of pennants hanging over the sidewalk was also damaged. The suspects left the scene before the police arrived. The State Security Department of the State Office of Criminal Investigation is investigating.

Police seized 192 pyrotechnics
According to a Berlin police spokesperson, a total of 192 pyrotechnics were seized on Saturday alone to prevent danger "so that they don't get up to any more mischief". There was one report of a violation of the Weapons Act and four administrative offenses were registered for violating the Explosives Ordinance. According to the police, these were mostly young people who attracted attention. 

Staff increased
The Berlin police had already announced that they would be on the road more before New Year's Eve due to the earlier sale of fireworks. Instead of 180 police cars, 239 are on duty, and there are also more personnel in the police stations.

Normally, fireworks are only sold in Germany on the last three days of the year, i.e. from December 29. As this time it falls on a Sunday, sales began on Saturday.