Horst Seehofer, the head of the German Ministry of Internal Affairs, called the riots in the German state of Stuttgart the alarm signal for the rule of law.
He flew to the city on Monday and met with a colleague from the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.
Stuttgart’s deputy police chief Thomas Berger said a total of 19 police officers were injured in riots in the city on Sunday night, a local SWR radio station reported.
Earlier, the Stuttgart police department reported that riots broke out in the city after a police check in connection with a drug-related crime. As the radio station clarifies, the police intended to conduct an audit against a 17-year-old young man, as a result of which 200-300 people “solidified” with him, threw stones and bottles at police officers. The rioters broke shop windows and robbed shops.
According to the radio station, about 280 law enforcement officers arrived at the scene, a total of 24 people were detained. The age of seven detainees does not reach 18 years, seven more – from 18 to 21 years. During the riots, 40 shops were damaged, nine of them were looted.
“We are dealing here with people who are not representative of our population as a whole, they perceive police officers as opponents and enemies. The rule of law should be protected. The situation on the weekend, as well as for several months, is an alarm for the rule of law”, – Seehofer said.
The Minister added that “the excesses with violence in Stuttgart are already deplorable in themselves, but we must prevent them throughout Germany”. He pointed out that violence against police and rescue services is “constantly increasing”, so “the case should not end censure, expressing the hope that” the justice authorities will seriously punish criminals who have been or will be identified”.