Berlin experienced “Wild West scenes” over the weekend as multiple shootings occurred across the capital in quick succession, leaving several people seriously injured. The motives behind the attacks remain unclear, and in most instances, the perpetrators are still at large, but they underline growing insecurity in Berlin and Germany as a whole.
The wave of shootings comes after Berlin already experienced a record number of shootings in 2023 and again in 2024. This year, 2025, is also on track to be even more violent in terms of gun crimes.
Berlin is also the most violent state in all of Germany when it comes to gun crime. The BKA situation report on gun crime in 2024 revealed that nowhere else in Germany are more shots fired than in Berlin. With a frequency of 9.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the capital is well ahead of Saarland (8.8) and Hamburg (8.3).
The rash of gun violence began on Friday evening in Lichtenberg, where shots were fired outside a snack bar on Franz-Jacob-Straße. Two men, aged 29 and 28, were struck. The public prosecutor’s office confirmed that the older man “remains in critical condition in the hospital.”
The following night, on Saturday evening, a 34-year-old man was shot in Kreuzberg’s Böcklerpark. An unknown assailant approached him, “fired several shots, and fled.” The victim was hospitalized, and the 6th Homicide Division assumed control of the investigation.
Finally, on Sunday night, unknown assailants opened fire on an apartment building in Tegel. Although residents alerted the police, the perpetrators “escaped in a car.” In that case, no one was injured, though it is currently unclear whether this incident is related to a similar shooting that took place in Spandau a week prior.
These weekend incidents form part of a worrying pattern of shootings in recent weeks across the city, including attacks in Staaken, Mariendorf, Zehlendorf, and another incident in Kreuzberg. In most cases, no arrests have been made.
Investigators suspect that the violence is fueled by feuds between different, sometimes organized, “migrant gangs.” The underlying conflicts are often believed to revolve around “drug trafficking, turf wars, and scores to settle.”
In response, the police plan to intensify their efforts. Police Chief Barbara Slowik and Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger (SPD) have “announced a more decisive approach.” Up to 100 special forces officers are slated for deployment to confiscate weapons, dismantle criminal networks, and quickly detect armed confrontations.
