🌤️ Guten Morgen, Berlin!

Here’s your quick update on what’s happening around the city on Tuesday, September 09 - from urgent alerts to stories in the subreddit. Today we went through 100+ articles, posts and events so you don't have to. Let’s dive in.

🇩🇪 20-year-old fired 9 shots at supermarkets

A 20-year-old man, identified as Alican C., went on trial in Berlin and confessed to shooting at two Eurogida supermarkets on March 3 following an extortion demand by a group calling itself the Butterflies.

Prosecutors say the group sought “protection” payments of €250,000, later raised to $500,000, and threatened violence; Eurogida, a Turkish grocery chain with 14 Berlin stores, refused to pay. The suspect was later arrested in Duisburg.

He seeks leniency with his confession; the court plans a verdict Sept. 15, and a separate trial over a March 30 Hakenfelde leg shooting, allegedly linked to the extortion case, begins Tuesday. (B.Z. – Die Stimme Berlins, 2 minute read)

🇩🇪 The taboo subject of illiteracy - The long road to writing

A University of Hamburg analysis estimates 10.6 million Germans aged 16–65 struggle with reading and writing, with Berlin and Brandenburg also significantly affected.

Adult illiteracy remains stigmatized, often rooted in insufficient support at school or home, illness, or trauma; skills can also fade without use. Berlin’s adult-education centers and Brandenburg’s 16 basic-education hubs offer literacy courses, but many learners require multiple attempts before enrolling.

Officials and educators are expanding outreach and peer support to bring more adults into courses; watch for increased funding, partnerships, and higher enrollment figures. (rbb24, 4 minute read)

🇩🇪 Record number of raccoons shot in Berlin

Berlin reported a rise in raccoon culling, now the city’s fourth most-shot wildlife after wild boar, rabbits, and roe deer, with targeted urban hunts approved in residential areas; the raccoon population is estimated at well over 1,000.

Abundant food waste draws raccoons into neighborhoods, increasing conflicts. Authorities say acoustic, scent, and structural deterrents are preferred, but hunting is used when needed, often amid illegal feeding; 34 city hunts were conducted this year, and 12 raccoons were found dead as accident or disease cases.

Expect continued approved urban hunts during the October–January season, alongside enforcement against illegal feeding and use of deterrents; police may also shoot wildlife in rare cases of infection risk or immediate threats to people. (B.Z. – Die Stimme Berlins, 2 minute read)

⚡ Quick Hits

📅 Events Today

💬 What Berliners Are Talking About

💄 Fun Fact: Berlin has some quirky museums – a Lipstick Museum showcasing vintage cosmetics, a Hemp Museum, and even a Museum of Letters (Buchstabenmuseum) with over 1,000 salvaged neon signs and letters from Berlin’s shopfronts.

👋 That's a wrap!

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