Once again there has been an outbreak of violence in an open-air swimming pool in Berlin: when a group is expelled from the facility in the Columbiabad, some return. Armed with tear gas and percussion tools.
Berlin – The sometimes heated mood in Berlin’s outdoor pools has again led to a violent conflict. Eleven people were injured, security forces fled from attackers, as the police reported on Wednesday about riots the previous evening in Columbiabad Neukölln.
Attacked security staff even barricaded themselves in the watchtower of the pool until the police arrived. The Berlin baths companies were affected on Wednesday – and announced the consequences. The use of security guards in the outdoor pools should be expanded.
Tear gas and percussion tools
The police also announced that three men aged 19, 23 and 24 were provisionally arrested on Tuesday evening after the conflict. According to the current state of knowledge, the escalation is said to have occurred after the three men with a group of up to twelve people were expelled from the bathroom because of a fight. Those affected then returned in a similarly large group and, according to witness statements, specifically attacked employees of the security service in the outdoor pool.
They would have sprayed tear gas and also carried striking tools. According to the police, three members of the security service fled from them into a watchtower and locked the door. The attackers then tried to break down the door, but fled when the police arrived.
According to the Berlin police, among the eleven injured between the ages of 15 and 49 years, six bathers, four security staff and one rescue worker were affected by the irritant gas. Three of the bathers were taken to a hospital for further treatment.
According to the police, three of the suspects were then picked up in a car near the bath and arrested. The men were taken into police custody but later released. Investigations into particularly serious breaches of the peace are ongoing.
Bath companies are dismayed
Riots and riots in outdoor pools have recently been a topic in the capital. At the end of June, for example, police officers and security guards were also harassed by up to 250 bathers in Columbiabad. A dispute arose after spraying with a water pistol. A woman spat at a man who then broke her nose with a water pistol. More and more people had interfered – the situation had escalated. Just a few days earlier, a mass brawl broke out at Steglitzer Bad am Insulaner after a splash with water guns and a subsequent argument.
The chairman of the board of directors of the Berliner Bäder-Betriebe was dismayed. “Yesterday, the clashes in the summer swimming pool in Neukölln reached an extent that we have never known before,” said Johannes Kleinsorg on Wednesday, according to the announcement. “We are deeply affected by this violence. We wish everyone who has been injured a speedy and full recovery.”
One is very grateful for the commitment of the police, who want to support the baths in securing operations. In addition, Kleinsorg announced that the use of security specialists at the outdoor pools should be increased again. The deployment of more security guards had already been announced at the end of June. At that time, there were already 172 security guards in eleven outdoor pools.
Despite the incident on Tuesday evening, the employees of the pool and the security forces made sure that the Columbiabad was able to open again directly on Wednesday – they also deserve a big thank you, says Kleinsorg. dpa
