Brutal scenes

Street fight with a machete in the middle of Leipzig

A video, which was distributed via the short message service X, documents the street fight.

In a violent confrontation on the notorious Eisenbahnstraße in Leipzig on Sunday afternoon, a man pulled out a machete and attacked opponents. Two men (26 each) suffered injuries. 

A video, which was distributed via the short messaging service X (formerly Twitter), documents the street fight in the notorious, multicultural Eisenbahnstraße. Irony: this has been a weapons ban zone since 2018 - just as one is planned for Vienna's Reumannplatz.

The moving images (see video above) show a group of around a dozen men maltreating each other with punches. One man lies bleeding on the ground. Suddenly, an attacker approaches with a machete, kicks an opponent and strikes one of the men lying on the ground with the blunt side. His victim was probably "only" supposed to be injured, not killed.

Scuffles can be seen in the background and angry insults can be heard in Turkish. The recording ends after just under a minute.

Leipzig police spokesman Olaf Hoppe (46) told Bild: "We are aware of the video and have secured it. It is part of our investigation into the altercation on Eisenbahnstraße."

Ermittlungen laufen

Wortlaut der offiziellen Polizeimeldung vom 13. Mai

"Late on Sunday afternoon, there was an altercation between several people on a green area of Eisenbahnstraße between Idastraße and Elisabethstraße. Those involved are also said to have been carrying dangerous objects; whether these were also used is the subject of ongoing investigations. According to the information available so far, two 26-year-old men were injured, one of whom required outpatient medical treatment. The police have started investigations into the reasons for the altercation, the respective involvement and the suspicion of dangerous bodily harm."

Gang war in the drug milieu suspected
The background is still unclear, as the injured men who were left behind - the rest of the men were able to flee before the police arrived - are keeping quiet about the incident. However, it is likely to have been a gang war in the drug scene.

Incidentally, the weapons ban zone in Eisenbahnstraße is to be lifted; its establishment was declared "ineffective" by the Higher Court of Saxony in 2021.