IA vehicle drove into a crowd in western Berlin city center. According to the police, one person was killed on Wednesday morning. More than a dozen people were injured, some seriously. The fire brigade had initially spoken of 30 injuries.
According to information from the German Press Agency, a group of students is also affected. The police initially gave no information and referred to relatives who still had to be informed. On Twitter, the authority announced a way for relatives to find out more: “Our personal information center for relatives can be reached at 030 – 84854460,” it said.
The woman killed by a car driver in Berlin was a teacher from northern Hesse. The Hessian state government announced on Wednesday that the woman was visiting the capital with a tenth grader from a school in Bad Arolsen in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district. Another teacher who was with the group was seriously injured. Students are also among the injured.
The driver is being questioned by the police
According to the police, the man drove his small Renault car at around 10:26 a.m. on the corner of Ku’damm and Rankestrasse onto the sidewalk of Ku’damm and into a group of people. Then, according to the information, he drove back to the intersection and almost 200 meters further east on Tauentzienstraße. Shortly before the corner of Marburger Strasse, he steered the car off the road onto the sidewalk again, touched another car, crossed Marburger Strasse and ended up in the window of a perfumery shop at Tauentzienstrasse 16.
Image: Google Maps
The police arrested the driver, police spokesman Thilo Cablitz said on Wednesday morning. The man is a 29-year-old German-Armenian living in Berlin. The police wrote on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. The man was initially held by passers-by. He will now be questioned and it will be checked whether it is a matter of an intentional act or a traffic accident, or whether a medical emergency is also possible. According to information from the dpa, a letter of confession was found in the car, but nothing was initially known about the content. The “Bild” newspaper first reported about it. The newspaper also quoted an investigator: “Definitely not an accident – a gunman, an ice-cold killer.” A police spokeswoman did not initially confirm this.
The police and fire brigade were on duty and tended to the injured. The area around was cordoned off. The capital police are on site with around 130 forces, as announced on Twitter. The vehicle, which drove into a crowd and a shop in the morning, was secured on site. The police are also on duty with a helicopter. The investigators want to get an overall picture of the situation on site, as a police spokesman said on Wednesday afternoon. A rescue helicopter was also seen.
Several hours after the incident, the Europa Center was partially cleared. The reason is the closer examination of the perpetrator’s car, which was opposite the large shopping center. It’s just a precautionary measure in case there’s anything dangerous in the car, police said.
Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) was shocked by the incident. “I’m in the situation center and keep myself informed. My thoughts and deepest sympathy are with all those affected!” Spranger tweeted on Wednesday. “I am shocked by the incident in Charlottenburg.”
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also expressed dismay after the incident. “My thoughts are with the seriously and very seriously injured, with the fatality,” he said on Wednesday. “And they are with those who had to experience terrible things. My deepest sympathy goes to them, all their relatives and survivors.”
In December 2016, an Islamist assassin drove into a Christmas market near the Memorial Church. At that time, twelve people died and more than 70 were injured. A memorial service is now planned for Wednesday evening at the church. The devotional at 7 p.m. will be organized by General Superintendent Ulrike Trautwein and the pastor of the Memorial Church, Kathrin Oxen, as the church announced in advance. The event should give everyone the opportunity to express their grief and to commemorate those affected and their families together, it said. Many people are currently receiving pastoral care in the church.