Years after the terrorist attack on Berlin’s Breitscheitplatz, a number of emergency services are again rushing to City West. sirens wail. A driver drove into a group of people. A woman dies, many students are injured. This is what we know so far about the incident.
In Berlin on Wednesday, a car drove onto a sidewalk into a group of people before stopping in a shop. According to the fire brigade and police, one person was killed and several others were injured, some of them critically. The exact number initially remained unclear, as did the cause of the event. A 29-year-old suspect was arrested.
The man drove his small Renault car on the corner of Ku’damm and Rankestrasse onto the sidewalk of Ku’damm and into a group of people. Then he drove to the intersection and just under 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. After the incident, a covered body lay near the intersection of Kurfürstendamm, Rankestrasse and Tauentzienstrasse. A spokeswoman for the Douglas perfumery chain confirmed the accident. There were no injuries in the store.
The scene of the accident is not far from the Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin-Charlottenburg. In December 2016, an Islamist assassin drove into a Christmas market there. A total of 13 people died and more than 70 were injured as a result of the long-term effects.
A teacher from Hesse died in the incident. The woman was in Berlin with 24 tenth-grade students from a school in Bad Arolsen in northern Hesse, the Hessian state government announced on Wednesday. Another teacher is said to have accompanied her, the teacher is said to have been seriously injured. Twelve students are said to be among the injured, reports the “Bild” newspaper. The students from Hesse would be psychologically cared for, said Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) on Wednesday in Berlin. A pregnant woman with a broken hip is said to be among the injured.
According to police, at least twelve people were injured in the deadly car incident. Police spokesman Thilo Cablitz told FOCUS Online. There was some conflicting information about the number of victims. Thirty injuries were reported before, then eight. According to the fire brigade, six people suffered life-threatening injuries in the incident on Wednesday morning. There were also three seriously injured and several slightly injured.
The driver was temporarily arrested. He was initially held by passers-by, said police spokesman Tilo Cablitz on site in the morning. The man – according to the police a 29-year-old German-Armenian living in Berlin – is said to have driven into the group of people at 10:26 a.m. The police checked whether it was an accident, a medical emergency or an intentional act. Berlin Senator Spranger announced that the suspect would be checked in all directions. The driver had come to a hospital.
According to dpa information, the perpetrator was driving a car that belonged to his older sister. He is said to have been known to the police, but not in connection with extremism.
The police are said to have found a letter of confession in the vehicle, the German press agency and the “Bild” newspaper reported unanimously. Nothing was initially known about the content. Berlin’s Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger, later said that there hadn’t been a “real letter of confession” after all. Posters and documents are said to have been found in the driver’s car. “There should be posters where he talks about Turkey,” said Spranger. The exact motivation of the driver must be examined. A police spokeswoman said: “We are still checking the nature of the statements on documents and posters found in the car.” According to the “Bild” newspaper, the driver’s motive should not have been political. The “image” quoted an investigator: “Definitely not an accident – a gunman, an ice-cold killer.” A police spokeswoman did not initially confirm this.
According to their own statements, the police were on duty with around 130 forces on Wednesday morning, and the officers used a helicopter to get an overview from the air. A police drone was also deployed. The area was cordoned off over a large area. There were several ambulances and police cars at the scene.
Several hours after the incident, the Europa Center was partially cleared on Wednesday afternoon. The reason is the closer examination of the perpetrator’s car, which was opposite the large shopping center on the other side of Tauentzienstraße. It’s just a precautionary measure in case there’s anything dangerous in the car, police said.
Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) promised support to those affected. “We will do everything we can to help those affected.” Likewise, everything will be done to clarify the course of events. She also wanted to get an idea of the situation on site in the afternoon. “Now it is important that the injured are cared for.” In addition, the relatives who are in shock need help and support.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his dismay after the fatal car incident in Berlin. “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 out to you, all your relatives and surviving dependents.” The federal government expressed its sympathy after the fatal incident involving a driver in Berlin. The government was “very affected and shaken,” said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann on Wednesday. Thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and their families.
