Berlin’s Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger, described the death drive of a 29-year-old in the German capital – krone.at reported – on Wednesday as an “amoktat”. “According to the latest information, today’s events in Tauentzienstrasse are an act of ransom by a mentally handicapped person,” she said on Twitter in the evening.
In the Wednesday morning incident, a woman was killed and 14 other people were injured, some seriously. A driver hit a group of people near the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin and killed a teacher from Hesse. A police spokeswoman said Wednesday evening that the injured were only people from the group of students the teacher had traveled with from Hesse in Berlin.
Several people were seriously injured
Five or six people were fatally injured, three others seriously. Due to the dynamic situation, the information still fluctuated, it said. The class consisted of tenth graders from Bad Arolsen. The group was therefore on a school trip in the capital.
The background is not yet clear, the sadness and sympathy from all over Germany is enormous. According to information from police circles, the suspect is psychologically disturbed. The chief of police stressed the openness of the investigation. People are really looking in all directions, said Barbara Slowik on Wednesday evening in the RBB. Psychological disorders of the 29-year-old driver cannot be ruled out, nor can a different background. Police are currently ruling out “nothing at all”.
SEK mission in the man’s apartment
On Wednesday evening, the police, with the support of a special task force, searched the driver’s home. A police spokeswoman confirmed the operation in the Charlottenburg district, which the newspaper “Bild” previously reported. Police also had contact with the driver’s sister, police said. There were no other details at first.
Documents and posters with statements about Turkey were found in the car of a 29-year-old German-Armenian living in Berlin. “There is no real confession letter,” Senator Spranger said before her tweet. Police had previously said that a confession letter had been found in the car. The driver’s exact motivation should be looked into, the statements would be carefully checked, the spokesman said.
Slowik spoke of a “suspect” who is now in hospital. At the moment there is no relevant knowledge of a political motivation. There was no mention of a random accident in the statements. The students from Hesse would receive psychological care, Spranger had said.
Drivers stopped by passers-by
The driver of the car was arrested. He was initially detained by passers-by, police spokesman Thilo Cablitz said. According to dpa information, the driver was driving a car that belonged to his older sister. He would have been known to the police for several crimes, but not in connection with extremism.
Numerous people also commemorated the dead and injured in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Wednesday evening. Among the guests were Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens), Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey and Senator for Education Astrid-Sabine Busse (both SPD), as well as emergency services from the fire brigade and police. Many citizens also expressed their deepest condolences during prayers.
The accident site is not far from the Gedächtniskirche on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin-Charlottenburg. In December 2016, a Muslim hitman drove into a Christmas market there. As a result of the long-term effects, a total of 13 people were killed and more than 70 were injured.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
