After a 10-year-old Afghan boy was hit with a plastic round, police in Chemnitz are probing whether there was a "xenophobic motive." The city made headlines in 2018 when far-right mobs chased down refugees in the city.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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A 10-year-old Afghan boy was shot with a plastic bullet likely from a compressed air gun in the German city of Chemnitz, police said on Friday.
Police said they were investigating a possible "xenophobic motive" in the incident and the case has now been taken over by a special branch of the police for politically motivated crimes.
Police have not yet identified a suspect and have called for witnesses.
The boy was shot at on Wednesday in the Sonnenberg neighborhood and was hit in the thigh. He was left with a bleeding wound and was treated by paramedics on the scene.
Police later found a plastic bullet that they said was likely fired from a compressed air gun.
Hundreds of far-right and counterprotesters clashed in Germany's Chemnitz over the death of a 35-year-old German-Cuban. Two men are suspected of having stabbed the victim several times "with no justifiable reason."
Image: Getty Images/O. Andersen
Death sparks demonstrations
The demonstrations were sparked by a deadly brawl that broke out in the German city of Chemnitz in the early hours of Sunday (August 26). What started out as a war of words resulted in a 35-year-old man being stabbed to death. Hours later, spontaneous, anti-migrant protests took over the streets of Chemnitz.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Meyer
German-Cuban killed
A German-Cuban man was stabbed in an altercation involving 10 people, several of whom were of "various nationalities," police sources said. The victim, named only as Daniel H., was apparently well-known among various political groups in the area. Two men in their 30s were also stabbed and seriously injured, and a 22-year-old Iraqi and 23-year-old Syrian are in custody over the killing.
Image: DW/B. Knight
Police reinforcements called
By Sunday afternoon, some 800 people had gathered to protest the man's death, including far-right groups. Authorities said the crowd was largely uncooperative and threw bottles at police officers. Police reinforcements had to be called in from nearby cities. The mobilizations were spontaneous and are thought to have surfaced following calls to demonstrate on social media.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Misinformation
German authorities said that that far-right groups spread misinformation on the internet. Among the false claims was that the victim of the knife attack died protecting a woman.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Andersen
Protests and counterprotests
Thousands of far-right and counterdemonstrators faced off in a second day of protest Monday. Several people were injured as objects and fireworks were hurled. Video footage showed the far-right "Pro Chemnitz" movement holding a banner with a quote from early 20th century poet Anton Günther reading "German and free we aim to be."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
'No place for Nazis'
Counter-demonstrators denouncing right-wing extremism also took to the streets of Chemnitz. Among the protesters were Antifa, who clashed with right-wing demonstrators.
In 2018, 8,000 people turned up for a far-right protest after two 23-year-old asylum seekers from Iraq and Syria stabbed a man to death in the city.
A day after the killing, a city street festival turned sour with some people filmed chasing down migrants. It then led to a week of far-right protests, attended by thousands of neo-Nazi and prominent far-right politicians from across the country. Some of the protests also saw clashes break out between far-right demonstrators and Antifa counterprotesters.
