A 36-year-old German father, Steven K., was left with severe facial injuries, hospitalized, and may require further surgery after telling a Romanian family they could not grill in the Friedrichsfelde district of Berlin on Sunday afternoon.

The victim, whose daughter is only three months old, was reportedly attacked after attempting to enforce a building-wide ban on grilling in the communal courtyard.

According to Steven K., several tenants had been frustrated since last year by the persistent smell of unauthorized barbecues in the yard, namely with one family consistently violating the rule. He explained the impact on his family to reporters:

“The plumes of smoke go straight into the children’s room window. We can’t open that anymore,” he told Bild newspaper.

On the morning of the attack, Steven K. observed a family from Romania setting up tables and chairs in the courtyard as early as 8:00 a.m. He intervened three separate times to point out the barbecue ban. While the items were initially removed, they were repeatedly brought back out. After the third attempt, K. contacted the police.

Responding officers listened to the complaint and advised Steven K. to return to his apartment, telling him it was “for your own safety.”

Shortly after, the situation escalated when a tenant allegedly issued a direct threat: “Watch out, my family is coming soon.”

The assault began when an Opel Corsa arrived at the scene. Steven K. described the sudden violence:

“An Opel Corsa pulled up. A man jumped out, with a woman and a child behind him.“

One man immediately sprayed pepper spray into K.’s face. Two men then proceeded to beat him with their fists and continued to kick him in the head and body even as he lay on the ground.