1 dead, several injured after car strikes pedestrians in Berlin

BERLIN

One person was killed and eight seriously injured when a car drove into pedestrians in Berlin’s city center Wednesday.

“A man has driven his car into a group of people. It is not yet clear whether it was an accident or an intentional act,” German police said in a statement.

The driver was arrested after his car crashed into a shop window.

According to the police, he was a 29-year-old German citizen of Armenian descent and he was currently being interrogated.

Interior Minister Iris Spranger did not confirm media reports that he left a letter of confession in his car but said there were some placards inside, which included messages and statements against Türkiye.

It was not immediately clear whether the placards were related to the incident or if it was a politically-motivated terror attack.

Police spokesman Thilo Cablitz told reporters earlier that investigators were trying to figure out whether the man deliberately drove his car into pedestrians or if it was an accident.

Witnesses said the car went on the pavement, drove through the crowd at high speed, and then drove back onto the street.

The driver continued on the road for a couple of minutes, went on the pavement again and then his car smashed through a shop window.

A school teacher, who traveled to Berlin with her students, lost her life at the scene, according to the media reports.

Authorities said at least eight people were seriously injured and five were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The incident occurred near Berlin’s Kurfuerstendamm boulevard -- popular among tourists and shoppers.