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Entrances to the Columbiabad: Temporarily, the bath was closed after quarrels over rioting youths

Photo: Paul Zinken / dpa

In the Columbiabad in Berlin-Neukölln, two men allegedly attacked and beat a security guard. The men had apparently been summoned on Monday evening by two women who had argued with the guards, as the police reported. The police are investigating for bodily harm.

The 26-year-old security guard stated that he had approached two women with strollers before the attack because they wanted to leave the bathroom through a wrong exit. The women had ignored his request several times, which led to a quarrel. One of the two women is then said to have made a phone call. Shortly thereafter, several cars drove up, from which the two attackers got out.

Video surveillance, bag and ID checks

One of the two men is said to have held the security guard so that the second could punch him in the face. The first man also struck. Subsequently, the men threatened him, according to the information, with a glass bottle and then left the bathroom to drive away.

In the first half of the summer, there had been several incidents in the Columbiabad and some other outdoor pools with recalcitrant youths and young men who argued, mobbed and sometimes even beat each other. The police were called several times, and baths were closed prematurely.

As a result, the bathing establishments and the Senate introduced video surveillance at the entrances in many pools and, in addition to bag checks, ID checks. However, this has also led to tourists, foreign students, young women with children, families or young people being sent away again if they do not have the right ID with them.

Overall, the number of violent crimes decreased compared to pre-pandemic times: In 2019, the Berlin police recorded 358 crimes in Berlin's outdoor pools. Last year there were 285. This year, at 48 (as of mid-July), it is below the figure from the same period last year (57). This emerges from the Senate's answers to a parliamentary question from Green MPs Klara Schedlich and Vasili Franco, quoted by the dpa news agency.

bbr/dpa