Overview
- Berlin police shot a man in the leg during a pre‑dawn operation in Hellersdorf after officers were attacked in a stairwell, with the injured man hospitalised and a homicide commission leading the inquiry.
- Residential fires claimed two lives over Christmas: a 67‑year‑old died in Reinheim on December 25 and a 54‑year‑old injured in a Hof blaze on December 22 succumbed to his injuries at Christmas, as causes remain under investigation.
- Police are examining explosive incidents in North Rhine‑Westphalia, including an apparent device used to breach a furniture store in Hamm and a Krefeld blast that destroyed a house entrance without injuries, with no current indication of political or organised‑crime motives in Krefeld.
- In Essen, a major water‑main rupture flooded a new building’s underground levels with an estimated 1.2 million liters of water; firefighters pumped up to about 10,000 liters per minute as the utility investigates the break.
- Holiday‑period burglaries prompted arrests and investigations, including three suspects caught in Chemnitz and multiple cases under review in Saxony‑Anhalt such as a car‑rammed gaming arcade in Magdeburg.