In one of the “troubled areas” of the Schöneberg district of Berlin, youths deployed a “ball bomb” mortar firework, which produced a tremendous explosion that blew out all the windows of an entire apartment building. However, there were mass arrests, totaling over 400, and over 600 police investigations across the city in a night of firework chaos.
The house that lost all its windows was on Belziger Strasse at the corner of Haupstrasse, which also experienced damage to the facade. Police are reporting that certain groups are gaining access more and more often to massive “ball bomb” mortars that produce tremendous explosions.
The blast left 36 apartments temporarily uninhabitable, with a spokesman from the fire department describing a “battlefield.”
“Many apartments are no longer inhabitable. There are four injured people, two of whom had to be taken to hospital,” he said.
🔥🇩🇪WAR ZONE BERLIN 🇩🇪🔥
Germany's capital city descends into mayhem during New Year's Eve.
🧨 36 apartments uninhabitable due to massively destructive "ball" bomb explosions
🚨 400 arrests
👮 670 investigations opened
Berlin is governed by a CDU mayor. pic.twitter.com/hkLw1HCTvs
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 1, 2025One of the suspects in the ball bomb attack has already been arrested, according to media reports.
In another incident at Berlin-Tegel, a suspected ball bomb detonated in the middle of a crowd. According to a Berlin fire department spokesman, eight people were injured, two of them with life-threatening injuries, including a 7-year-old boy who underwent emergency surgery for life-threatening injuries
JUST IN: 🇩🇪 More footage from New Year's attacks in Berlin, including police being targeted and arson attacks on vehicles.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said in response: "Civil war-like conditions in the usual Berlin districts: attacks with ball bombs, 15 injured officers and 390… pic.twitter.com/jjQwY0GFkK
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 2, 2025These ball bombs are illegal due to their high explosive power, but somehow youths in Berlin are gaining access to these fireworks through the black market. These ball bombs are spherical in shape and come in various sizes, some weighing up to several kilograms, and can produce a blast radius of up to 100 meters. They are shot out of mortars and professional fireworks displays. Individuals in Germany are reportedly gaining access to them through chat groups and contacts in the black market firework scene.
While the massive explosion in Schöneberg was perhaps the most dramatic event on New Year’s, there was chaos all over the city, resulting in 400 arrests. There are videos circulating throughout social media showing youths targeting buildings with firework rockets, hitting vehicles with mortars, and attacking police and firefighters.
🇩🇪🧨 A firework rocket was launched at a private home in Berlin, shattering a window.
The Berlin police department reports they are investigating the contents of this video. pic.twitter.com/r5rxoAJu5J
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 1, 2025Accoring to Berliner Morgenpost, several arrested individuals attacked emergency personnel and others with fireworks. Some who were arrested had illegal weapons.
The first reports indicate that 30 police officers were injured and one firefighter, while last year, 34 police officers were injured.
However, a police officers was injured so badly in Mauerpark, by what is believed to be an illegal firework, that he is in danger of losing his leg.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel, who is now running for chancellor, took to X to write: “Civil war-like conditions in the usual Berlin districts: attacks with ball bombs, 15 injured officers and 390 arrests. The citizens who just want to celebrate are also paying the price for the migration policy on New Year’s Eve.”
Bürgerkriegsähnliche Zustände in den üblichen Berliner Stadtteilen: Angriffe mit Kugelbomben, 15 verletzte Beamte und 390 Festnahmen. Die Bürger, die einfach nur feiern wollen, zahlen auch an Silvester die Zeche für die Migrationspolitik. #DeshalbAfDhttps://t.co/l3V1deocka pic.twitter.com/fU7sCs5cJS
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) January 1, 2025However, there were attacks all over the country — not just in Berlin. In view of the emergency services being targeted, the police union (GdP) federal chairman Jochen Kopelke said “I can no longer tolerate this macho behavior on the streets and in social media. Time and again, there are young men from socially disadvantaged areas who think they control the streets.”
He is calling for swift action against these criminals, saying “in Leipzig, Munich, Cologne and Hamburg, we were targeted and injured. This must have swift and noticeable consequences for the perpetrators and also have noticeable effects on the left-wing extremist scene.”
RBB also reports that in many cases, it appears young people are trying to build their own “ball bombs.”
“They primarily explode in the hand, so we have seen the most serious hand and amputation injuries, in conjunction with severe burns. But then the face, neck and eyes were also affected,” said the director of the Berlin Accident Hospital, Leila Harhaus-Wähner. She added that all those affected were “all teenagers or young adults, exclusively male.”
🇩🇪‼️ "Germany is no longer a safe country… The migration crisis is first and foremost a crime crisis."
German police union (DPoIG) chairman Manuel Ostermann makes a major statement following the Solingen terror attack by a Syrian Islamist. pic.twitter.com/ZolmrLnMHa
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) August 28, 2024Berlin’s state fire director Karsten Homrighausen also said that the fire department had registered significantly more ball bomb accidents this year compared to the previous year.
“Last year it was still manageable, but now it is spreading more and more,” said Homrighausen.
That means next year, even more such attacks could become widespread, especially as news of the destructive power of such ball bombs spreads, which may appeal to certain groups in Berlin and other cities.
There also appears to have been widespread arson attacks across Berlin, with 28 vehicles seriously damaged in various locations. Police and firefighters continue to investigate these incidents
In another incident, a 26-year-old man was pushed onto tracks at the Kurfürstenstrasse subway station. after he complained about two men lighting fireworks and throwing them onto the train tracks. Police say they responded by hitting the 26-year-old with glass bottles and pushing him onto the train tracks. Witnesses were able to help the man back up before the next train arrived.
The two men, one 40 and the other 49, fled the area, but were alter arrested by police.
Berlin’ Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) has announced investigations into the attacks on emergency services on New Year’s Eve.
“Shooting police officers with ball bombs, attacking the emergency services and rescue teams of the fire brigade with pyrotechnics or stones – unbelievable,” Wegner told the Tagesspiegel. “We will never accept these attacks on our emergency services and will also keep up the pressure to investigate afterwards. Such criminals must feel the full force of the rule of law. I trust the Berlin police and judiciary in this.”
Most of the youths arrested are back out on the streets by the next day. Many of them are too young to be held criminally liable and in many cases, the Berlin court system is lenient towards even repeat offenders.
