Police call Stuttgart riots 'unbelievable occurrence'

Police on Sunday (June 21) said they had arrested 24 suspects after a night of rioting on an unprecedented scale in the German city of Stuttgart on Saturday night.

According to police, some 19 officers were injured after police involvement in a drug related offence that escalated.

There was significant damage to shops in the city centre.

Police said that passersby joined in the rioting and became aggressive against police.

Rioters hurled bricks and stones at police vehicles and used metal bars to smash police car windows.

The city's chief of police, Frank Lutz said: "This was an unbelievable occurrence and I am speechless. In the 46 years of police service that I have under my belt I have never seen anything like this."

More than 200 police were called in on Saturday night to deal with the situation.