The police report now shows how violent the night of riots in Vienna’s Favoriten district was. A suspect testified why a Christmas tree should burn.
Shortly after midnight, about 40 youths had gathered, used massive amounts of pyrotechnics and tried to break open a jewellery shop. The shock waves from the pyrotechnics were so strong that several windows were broken. A diesel petrol mixture was also poured over the Christmas tree, several rubbish bins were thrown through the air and/or against windows of shops on Reumannplatz square.The fire brigade, police and ambulance quickly arrived at the scene and the tree was sprayed with fire-fighting foam. “One of the rioters said that a Christmas tree had no place in a Muslim district. Several officers were pelted with missiles and “Allahu Akbar” shouts by the rioting mob, and nine arrests were made at short notice.
Investigations into serious damage to property, theft by burglary, attempted grievous bodily harm and under the law on the use of narcotic substances are ongoing.
Police Commissioner Gerhard Pürstl therefore now wants to invite to a summit regarding matters of security, while the Social Democratic Party (SP) demands concrete solutions. The Freedom Party warns against a “wishy-washy” summit.