BERLIN – The German fire brigade said 13 people were injured – four of them seriously – at a free concert given by Berlin rapper Samra in a neighbourhood shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
Someone sprayed irritant gas during the performance in Neukölln’s Gropiuspassagen shopping centre, according to a fire brigade spokesman. Scuffles followed, with injuries caused by both the gas and the scuffle.
After the concert, Samra said: “Thank you thank you to everyone who was there. We had so much fun. But I just got a call that someone had sprayed pepper spray into the crowd. I think that’s a great pity – a disgusting, dirty action. I hope nobody was hurt,” in an Instagram story. He thanked the fire brigade and the police.
The free concert was planned for 4 pm (1500 GMT) and some 700 people were expected to attend. However, videos of the event show dense crowding and the fire brigade said 2,000 to 3,000 people attended. Police put the number at around 1,000.
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The fire brigade was alerted at 4:25 pm and reported a mass casualty incident, a procedure allowing them to organizing first aid when there are five or more casualties.
Some 42 emergency responders came to the site.
None of those injured are in danger of death. The four people who were seriously injured and the two who suffered minor injuries were taken to hospital. Seven other people with minor injuries were treated at the scene, the spokesman said.
The police are investigating on suspicion of dangerous bodily harm, they said in a post on X.
Samra, an award-winning Lebanese-German artist, is based in Berlin and has had dozens of top 10 hits.
(dpa)
