Berlin police have no evidence of child abductions in viral blue VW van warning

A social media post has been circulating for several days warning parents in Berlin about a blue VW van, according to the Tagesspiegel. It describes an "attempted child abduction" in which a man allegedly tried to pull a primary school child into the vehicle in Mitte. The post also claims similar incidents in Spandau, Lichtenrade, Tempelhof, Kreuzberg and most recently Wedding, and says the perpetrators are still active. The post names no sources for these incidents, and the Tagesspiegel describes it as apparently AI-generated.

A Berlin police spokesperson told the paper that the authorities cannot confirm the claims. No reports or tips about such a case have been received so far. The spokesperson said the police understand that such messages unsettle many people, particularly given recent events. Last week police searched for days for a missing 13-year-old girl from Marzahn, who was found dead on Sunday in a house in Brandenburg.

Police still advise against passing the post on. It shows an image of the supposed vehicle with a license plate that is not blurred, and sharing posts containing personal data can be a criminal offense, the spokesperson said. If parents or children in Berlin did actually witness the alleged incidents, police ask them to report this immediately.

In 2023, a similar message claimed that people in minibuses with a BVG logo were abducting children in Berlin. Police called it a false report and also advised against sharing it then.