Riots in the St. Wendel outdoor pool: young people cause chaos!

Riots in the St. Wendel outdoor pool: young people cause chaos!

On Saturday, June 14, 2025, an incident occurred in the outdoor swimming pool in St. Wendel that caused a stir. At temperatures over 30 degrees, numerous visitors gathered, including families with children and seniors. Around 7 p.m., around 20 young people, mostly male, got into an aggressive argument on the lawn. Reports of loud shoving and emotional exclamations were made by concerned guests, while some girls burst into tears and many bathers retreated.

The lifeguard seemed visibly overwhelmed as the situation only took place on the lawn. Given the explosive situation, two police patrol cars were called to the scene to take reports and ensure calm. Despite the deployment, no new information about the incident was released; The police station in St. Wendel remained silent and announced that an official statement would not be made until next Monday.

Bathing establishment closed early

Because of the escalating argument, the outdoor pool was closed early; the pool was cleared about half an hour before the regular closing time. In a public announcement, the police asked the public for information, pictures or videos of the incident via WhatsApp to help clarify the situation. This request highlights the lack of clarity about police transparency expectations regarding these incidents.

Similar disputes are not uncommon in other outdoor swimming pools. An incident in the Gropiusstadt combination pool in Berlin, which took place on the same Saturday, took an even more tragic turn: There, two brothers aged 14 and 15 were injured with punches in a commotion. The fight broke out around 6:15 p.m. and also led to the pool being closed early. Despite the incident, the swimming pool was open again as usual on Sunday.

Measures and security concepts

The Berlin swimming pool companies had previously drawn positive conclusions from the summer season and pointed out that there had been no serious security incidents up to this point. A successful security concept, which included cooperation with the police and external security companies, was emphasized. For a year now, Berlin's open-air swimming pools have had to provide ID for quick identification in the event of an incident, accompanied by video surveillance at the entrances and exits.

The Safe Now app, which was introduced in recent years, is being tested in the Neukölln and Pankow summer pools and is intended to support the security forces. These developments underline the importance of responding appropriately to incidents in public swimming pools and implementing appropriate hazard prevention strategies.