Berlin: Police prevent stabbing in Neukölln

Nighttime operation in Neukölln: A fight escalates when knives are suddenly pulled out. The police are able to bring the situation under control.

On the night of Wednesday, a violent confrontation between several people took place on Karl-Marx-Straße in Berlin-Neukölln. As a reporter on the scene reports, the police were able to prevent further escalation by intervening quickly.

A 26-year-old and a 23-year-old man initially got into an argument in a bar and then moved the fight to the sidewalk, according to the police. The 26-year-old's 35-year-old brother joined them there, and the 23-year-old eventually called over other people from a neighboring bar.

According to reports, the dispute then escalated: At around 2:30 a.m., the crew of a patrol car on the corner of Schierker Strasse observed, according to the reporter, how a large crowd of people attacked each other, first verbally and then with fists. The officers immediately called for reinforcements, it is said.

Several people involved are said to have pulled out knives. Despite being outnumbered, the police intervened, the reporter reports. The police say they arrested the three main people involved, the 26-year-old, the 23-year-old and the 35-year-old, while the others fled.

Despite the knives, only minor injuries were sustained. The victims were treated as outpatients.

According to the reporter on site, the criminal investigation department and officers from the relevant section have begun investigating the background to the incident. Several witnesses have already been questioned, including the driver of a small van who happened to get caught up in the altercation. DNA traces were secured on the weapons used in the crime, at least two knives.