Mayhem in Lörrach

An item of local news for your attention:

Yesterday morning, a young lady was sighted on the roof of the town hall of neighbouring Lörrach. It was obvious she was contemplating suicide. Macabre and sad spectacles like these always seem to attract throngs of onlookers, and so it was that a hundred of so people - even families - were soon milling around in the square below gazing at the roof of what is Lörrach's tallest building by far.

Amid these scenes, some local teenagers among the crowd, some of them recognised trouble-makers who tend to hang around the Rathausplatz, thought it would be a good idea to shout "Jump!" repeatedly. Unbelievable.

Lörrach's tramps, who regularly hang about in the area between the railway station and the town hall, took exception to this and - to their great credit - confronted the gang of youths. A violent fracas ensued involving more than 40 people. The police waded in to arrest some of the trouble-makers, but were then physically attacked themselves by other teenagers. Six officers were injured, two of them seriously. A dozen teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 are now facing charges. The mind boggles how twisted some people are.

All the while, the girl, aged 21, was still on the roof. Thankfully though, after four hours she was finally persuaded to come back into the building and is now receiving professional help.

Here's a report in German