It was cats who saved Strasbourg police during the terror attacks two years ago

Following the recent attacks in Vienna, people on social media looked to what Twitter users had done two years ago to protect the police. 

It was on the evening of 11 December 2018, when the city of Strasbourg came under a brutal attack which left five people dead and 11 injured. Authorities called it an act of terrorism, and the police immediately began searching for those responsible.

Police operation

When reports emerged that police were carrying out a special operation in Neudorf linked to the attack, there were concerns that any information shared online could jeopardise the entire police operation. French police even went so far as to post a tweet urging people not to post any live videos or photos of police activity on social media.

Twitter users didn't just heed the police's request; they decided to do one better.

Pet power!

In a bid to stop sensitive information from the police's operation posted under #Neudorf reaching those responsible for the attack, Twitter users flooded the hashtag with pictures of adorable cats. And it worked!

Before long if anyone searched on the #Neudorf hashtag all they would find was countless photos and videos of cute cats and kittens taking a cat nap, playing with their toys or just going about their day. One Twitter user even posted a picture of their dog to make sure the canine community didn't feel left out!

Check out some of the #Neudorf cat posts below:

Some Twitter users got quite creative!

It was this event that helped the police during the Vienna attacks just a few days ago. Indeed, Twitter users just got back to it, posting adorable and funny cat pictures with the hashtag #vienna! 

We always thought dogs were man's best friend, but it turns out, they're in competition with cats!