A row between migrants in one of the reception centers escalated into open violence early Tuesday as people living in the shelter attacked local security staff that tried to intervene, police announced. A group of rioters then barricaded themselves in the building, forcing the security workers to call the police.
However, several local police squads that initially arrived at the scene located in the Bavarian town of Bamberg also failed to handle the situation. The officers were pelted with paving stones and had to call for backup.
As "numerous police detachments" from neighboring departments came to rescue, the police force at the scene amassed to some 100 officers. Law enforcement besieged the housing facility, which meanwhile caught fire.
Comment: German police warned years ago that the situations in the refugee centers would lead to violent clashes, and such incidents will likely heighten tensions with the local populations: