crime
Fire in department store at Alex – 26-year-old arrested
The Berlin Alexanderplatz with the world clock and the television tower. Photo: Zacharie Scheurer / dpa-tmn
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Alarm while shopping: A fire breaks out on the fourth floor of a department store on Alexanderplatz and heavy smoke is formed. Employees bring down a suspected arsonist.
Three people were injured in a fire in a department store on Alexanderplatz in Berlin. The police assume arson and arrested a 26-year-old, a spokeswoman said.
He is said to have set fire to objects on the fourth floor of the department store on Saturday. RBB and «Bild» had previously reported. He also attacked people with a fire extinguisher and a burning blanket. Workers had overwhelmed the man, the spokeswoman reported. He was placed in a psychiatric hospital due to a corresponding illness.
It must have been dramatic minutes on Saturday at around 2:40 p.m .: According to witnesses, the man should only have set fire to the floor on which, among other things, home textiles and household goods are sold. Then, according to the first findings of the police, he attacked employees and customers. The police spokeswoman said he hit a 56-year-old customer with a burning blanket. The man suffered burn injuries to his hand.
Attentive employees would have overpowered the alleged perpetrator. However, he was able to tear himself away and tried to set fire to more goods. However, the workers could have grabbed him again and brought him to the ground. They held him there until alerted police arrested him.
Meanwhile the sprinkler system had gone off. With their help and the efforts of the staff, the fire had already been extinguished when the fire brigade arrived. House security forces evacuated the five-story building. The fire brigade and police said there were no problems.
According to the fire department, there was heavy smoke in the building. Two 15 and 19-year-old customers had to be treated with suspected smoke poisoning, the police said. According to earlier information from the fire brigade, it was said that a person had been treated on suspicion of smoke poisoning and that two employees needed medical help.
Information on the amount of property damage was initially not available. The substance of the house had not been attacked, the police said. However, the department store remained closed after the incident on Saturday.