Police lock down Berlin street after shots fired at LGBT museum
A museum in Berlin dedicated to LGBT history has been shot at by unidentified assailants.
The Schwules Museum, which opened in 1985, is dedicated to exhibiting the city’s vibrant and long-thriving gay scene.
In an official statement this week, the museum warned that it had identified what appear to be bullet holes, following a shooting incident.
No-one was hurt in the incident.
The statement says: “On Monday a volunteer noticed several gunshot holes in the front window of our museum, right next to the entrance.
“We contacted the police immediately, who came a few minutes later to examine the crime scene. Because of the photos they took, the Landeskriminalamt (LKA) appeared half an hour later and shut off the street.
“Half a dozen officers started to secure the evidence. It turned out that there were not only four shot holes in the window, but also two in the window frame.”
It continues: “The investigators expressed their worry that the delinquents will be hard to find. Still, the official investigations started yesterday. Until they are concluded, there will be no further official statements.
“The attack on the Schwule Museum* happened in a time where a black Catholic priest resigned in Bavaria because of death threats, and the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” runs an article on its front page entitled “Fear Reigns” (Die Angst regiert).”
It has been suggested that “the windows should be kept in the museum collection” documenting anti-gay hate crimes, alongside the stones used to smash the windows of fellow LGBT museum, the Magnus Hirschfeld Zentrum in Hamburg, in 2013.
The statement continues: “Most of the people working at the museum are volunteers, who are here because they enjoy being in a safe environment where they are accepted for who and what they are.
“Many said they were ‘worried’ about the attacks on this institution. Realistically, anyone could have done it.”
