On Saturday evening, a violent mob of several hundred people marched through Zurich. They attacked emergency services and committed property damage.
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the essentials in brief
- There was an unauthorized demonstration in Zurich on Saturday evening.
- Seven police officers were injured in violent riots.
- They were attacked with Molotov cocktails, pyros, iron bars and stones.
On Saturday evening there was an unauthorized demonstration by left-wing circles in Zurich’s district 5. At first the 200-300 masked people marched peacefully: but then the situation escalated completely.
On Saturday, around 10:15 p.m., the Zurich City Police Operations Center received a report that several hundred people were demonstrating on Heinrichstrasse, according to the police.
Massive violence against police officers
“When the first police patrols arrived, they were suddenly and violently attacked by the mostly masked people. The police immediately called for reinforcements.”
The demo train then moved on along Langstrasse in the direction of Kreis 4. At the Langstrasse underpass, it broke through a police barrier.
The police officers were repeatedly attacked with iron bars, stones, pyrotechnic objects and Molotov cocktails.
The demonstrators threw bottles at the emergency services
It was only with a lot of luck that there were no seriously injured police officers or bystanders. The demonstration participants also damaged parked vehicles, sprayed house facades and VBZ vehicles.
The city police used rubber shot, irritants and the water cannon, which had also arrived in the meantime, against the violent mob.
In the meantime, the demonstrators divided into different groups and there was also a mingling with party-goers. At Piazza Cella, the police rounded up a large group and began checking people.
Bottles were repeatedly thrown at the police officers during this action. Outsiders also tried to free people who had been arrested.
17 people were arrested
A police officer was forced into a doorway and thrown to the ground by around half a dozen people, hitting him in the head and body with fists and kicks.
Here, too, the water cannon had to be used to defuse the situation. After 1 a.m. the check was over and the situation calmed down.
The city police checked around 60 people, 17 of whom were arrested. Seven employees of the Zurich city police were injured, one person had to be taken to the hospital for further investigations.
The property damage caused cannot be quantified at this time. The Zurich City Police have started the investigation.