On 8 June 2022, a person drove a car onto the sidewalk at the corner of Kurfürstendamm and Rankestraße across from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany, killing one person and injuring 17 people.[1] The suspect was arrested at the scene.[2][3]
| 2022 Berlin car attack | |
|---|---|
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Date | 8 June 2022 |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | +30 |
Attack edit
At around 10:30 local time, a person in a Renault Clio drove onto the sidewalk at the end of the Kurfürstendamm on the corner of Rankestraße in Berlin running into a group of pedestrians. The driver then continued across the intersection onto Tauentzienstraße and finally crashed into the window of a Douglas cosmetics store one block further on the corner of Marburger Straße. The driver was detained by passersby before being arrested by the police.[4][1]
Seventeen people were injured, including 14 school children. One person, a schoolteacher, died.[5][6][1]
The suspect was identified as a 29-year-old man holding dual German and Armenian citizenship.[4] Posters relating to Turkey were found in the car, which was initially reported as a note by Bild.[7] According to Berlin's Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD), the man gained German citizenship in 2015. He was listed in police investigations into assault, trespassing, and insult. However, he was not known to be politically active or extremist, nor had he attracted attention for any anti-constitutional actions. No confession letter was found in the car. Spranger said on 9 June that, based on the current status, she would rate the event as a rampage by a mentally ill person.[8]
By 13 June, eight persons were still in hospital care. The police say over 30 persons had been injured. A 10th grade class from Bad Arolsen in Hesse was especially affected; one teacher was killed and one seriously injured as well. The driver was being held and guarded in a psychiatric institution due to his mental illness. Medication for his illness was found in his apartment. Public prosecution is charging him with 1 count of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.[9]
The incident happened just across from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which had been the site of a terrorist attack in December 2016.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b c Brown, Benjamin; Mackintosh, Eliza (8 June 2022). "One person dead after car driven into crowd in Berlin". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ "Berlin: Auto fährt in Fußgänger – ein Toter, mehrere Verletzte | MDR.DE". www.mdr.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ Corbishley, Sam (8 June 2022). "One dead and dozens injured after car crashes through people on Berlin pavement". Metro. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Berlin: One dead and others hurt as car drives into pedestrians". BBC. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ "Auto fährt in Berlin in Menschenmenge - ein Toter". n-tv.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ "Berlin: Auto fährt in Menschenmenge - ein Toter und Verletzte". tagesschau.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ Chambers, Madeline; Alkousaa, Riham (8 June 2022). "Man drives car into Berlin crowd, teacher dead". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
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 Turkey, which has troubled relations with Armenia.
- ^ "Tödliche Autofahrt in Berlin: Auch Giffey spricht von "Amoktat"". tagesschau.de (in German). 9 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Noch acht Opfer der Berliner Amokfahrt in Krankenhäusern". tagesspiegel.de (in German). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church". berlin.de. Retrieved 11 June 2022.