New Year’s Eve and New Year in Berlin – the most important things in brief:
December 31, 2023
11 a.m.: Drunk man shoots from balcony in Lichtenberg: SEK operation
A drunk man shot fireworks and a pistol from the balcony in the Hohenschönhausen district of Lichtenberg. As a police spokesman said, the incident occurred on Zingster Street in a high-rise building on the evening before New Year’s Eve. Because the situation on site was unclear, the SEK arrived and temporarily arrested the 33-year-old man. During a search of the apartment, a blank pistol and several dummy weapons were found. A breath alcohol test showed a level of more than 1.4 per mille. The man was taken into custody, where a blood test was ordered.
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10:15 a.m.: Several cars burn in Berlin
After several car fires in Berlin, the police are investigating suspected arson. According to police, a total of four cars were damaged in a fire on Holzmarktstrasse in Mitte on Sunday night. A resident noticed the fire in a vehicle around 2:15 a.m. A police spokesman said this caused damage to three other cars. In total, the fire department responded to nine vehicle fires in the city between 12:20 a.m. and around 4 a.m. on Sunday night, a fire department spokesman said.
According to police, no people were injured in the fires. The incidents usually involved a car burning, and adjacent vehicles were then damaged by the heat or because the flames spread. According to the police, this was also the case in a larger parking lot on Landsberger Allee, where a resident noticed a burning car at around 3:10 a.m.
9.30 a.m.: Berlin-Kaulsdorf: Man loses hand due to rocket
Shortly before New Year’s Eve, a man lost a hand while setting off a fireworks rocket in the Berlin district of Kaulsdorf. The 40-year-old set off the signal rocket on Saturday on the terrace of a bungalow on Habsheimer Strasse (Marzahn-Hellersdorf district), the Berlin police said on Sunday morning. Immediately after ignition, the rocket exploded in his hand. He was taken to a hospital. During a search, additional pyrotechnics were found on him and confiscated.
According to initial findings, the firecracker was a category F4 signal rocket. Such large fireworks displays may only be used by trained pyrotechnicians. It was said that it would now be checked whether the 40-year-old had such a permit. The LKA is investigating. Fireworks are divided into four categories. The F1 category includes small fireworks such as sparklers, table fireworks and joke items.
8 a.m.: First riots with firecrackers in Neukölln and Pankow
The night before New Year’s Eve there were already the first riots with firecrackers in Berlin. In front of the Pankow town hall, a person was injured by a firecracker and had to be taken to the hospital. In the Reuterkiez in Neukölln, several people shot at houses and cars. Arrests were made in both Pankow and Neukölln.
7.30 a.m.: Over 3,000 police officers and around 1,500 firefighters on duty
After riots and riots at the turn of the year last year, the Berlin police are facing one of their biggest New Year’s Eve operations. According to Police Chief Barbara Slowik, 3,000 police officers from the capital and other federal states are on the streets at night. 1,000 additional officers are deployed in 220 patrol cars and in the 37 police stations. There are also 500 federal police officers at the train stations. The fire brigade and other aid organizations want to be active with a total of more than 1,500 emergency services.