22-year-old shot outside café in Berlin-Kreuzberg's Graefekiez, police probe clan-feud link

Shooting outside café

A 22-year-old man was shot and wounded by an unknown attacker on Friday evening at approximately 20:40 while sitting in the outdoor area of a café at the corner of Graefestraße and Böckhstraße in Berlin-Kreuzberg's Graefekiez district. The victim was struck by multiple bullets, according to Tagesspiegel information. A first responder treated the injured man before paramedics arrived and transported him to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. Police stated that he was no longer in life-threatening condition.

Officers from the 25th Einsatzhundertschaft had heard the shots themselves, according to a police statement. The shooter fled the scene on foot. The 2nd homicide commission (Mordkommission) of the Berlin Landeskriminalamt has taken over the investigation on suspicion of attempted manslaughter.

Manhunt and investigation

Police launched a large-scale search for the suspect, deploying a helicopter and cordoning off Graefestraße over a wide area. Officers searched streets, house entrances, and bushes.

“We are trying to trace the possible escape route of the unknown shooter.”

Numerous witnesses were questioned on Friday evening. Police are examining possible connections to earlier shootings in the Graefekiez area and are in contact with the special unit "Ferrum," established at the Landeskriminalamt last autumn in response to a marked increase in gun crime across Berlin.

Pattern of shootings in the Graefekiez

The Graefekiez and nearby streets have seen multiple shooting incidents this year. On 19 March, several shots were fired at a 23-year-old standing on the pavement of Graefestraße with an acquaintance; two men were observed at the scene, and four suspects were arrested in May. Later in May, two attackers on a motor scooter shot at a moving car on Urbanstraße. The passenger dismounted at the median and fired multiple rounds at the vehicle, which carried four police-known men aged 24, 32, 35, and 55. The car was hit by five bullets. Tagesspiegel reported that Remmo family members were inside. A few days later, shots were fired at night at a playground on Urbanstraße where a man was present; he remained unharmed, and the attacker fled on foot toward Hermannplatz.

Organized crime context

Investigators have described the underlying conflict as a feud between a branch of the Remmo clan and a gang of mid-twenties men from the Werner-Düttmann-Siedlung, a dispute they have termed the "Graefekiez-Krieg." Both sides are armed, and their members are frequently known to police for property, drug, and violent offences. The Remmo family has been linked to high-profile burglaries in the past, including those at the Bode-Museum and the Grünes Gewölbe.

However, investigators attribute most shootings this year and last to extortion networks from Turkey. Turkish-origin groups, particularly the "Daltons" and their offshoot the "Ezgins," have allegedly demanded protection money from business owners with Turkish roots, with additional disputes involving other drug and weapons dealers. In response to rising gun violence, the Landeskriminalamt established the "Ferrum" unit last autumn and added the "Telum" investigation group in late February to strengthen the fight against organized crime, following repeated offences against Turkish-Kurdish business owners. Police recorded 1,119 cases of firearm use in Berlin last year.