Teacher killed as man drives car into crowd in Germany, others critically injured
- 6 people have life-threatening injuries, including schoolchildren – bystanders detained driver after car cashed into a shop window
- Incident revived memories of 2016, when a man in the same area of Berlin drove into a crowded Christmas market and killed 11 people
A 29-year-old man drove into a crowd of people in Berlin on Wednesday, killing a teacher and injuring a dozen people, some critically, as his car veered onto a pavement twice in a popular shopping district, officials said.
Police identified the driver as a German-Armenian man, whose vehicle eventually crashed into a shop window. He was detained by bystanders and handed over to the authorities. The injured included schoolchildren.
Police said it was unclear whether it was an accident or a deliberate act in a street near to the war-ravaged Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, one of the German capital’s best-known landmarks.
Officials said an investigation was ongoing and denied a report by Germany’s Bild newspaper the driver had left a letter of confession in the car. Instead, investigators had found posters about Türkiye – the name recently adopted by Turkey – which has troubled relations with Armenia.
“We haven’t clarified everything yet,” Berlin’s mayor Franziska Giffey told reporters at the scene.
A police spokesperson at the scene said a dozen people were injured. Six were in a life-threatening condition, and another three were seriously hurt, the fire service said.