Halloween is approaching, so the following story should be a warning: Two young men are out and about in Schwerin, in military outfits and with supposedly real weapons. At least one woman thinks so and informs the police. The officers come with real submachine guns.
With a frightening military-look costume, two young Japan cartoon fans in the old town of Schwerin put themselves in great danger: four police officers with drawn submachine guns stopped the two, the police said. The young men had “completely thoughtlessly put themselves in great danger by running through the city with weapons that looked deceptively real”.
Only because of the level-headed approach of the emergency services and the fact that the disguised men did not point their weapons at people, firearms were not used. The police officers were equipped with the highest security equipment, according to a statement.
A whistleblower had previously alerted the police by phone that two men were wearing balaclavas and military vests and were armed. She then directed the emergency services to the men by telephone.
According to the police, the survey finally revealed that the 19 and 22-year-old men from Rostock belong to the so-called anime scene, i.e. are fans of Japanese cartoon series. They had come to Schwerin in costume for a scene meeting. According to the police, one of the two men wore, among other things, a black vest with patches with blood group information, his name and a coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Germany.
According to the police, a gas pressure gun in a leg holster, a spring gun that one of the men was holding and four one-handed knives in a backpack were found and secured during the search of the costumed people. The anime fans received a criminal complaint for disturbing the public peace. They also have to pay for the police operation.
(This article was first published on Sunday, October 30, 2022.)