By Jörg Bergmann, Michael Behrendt, Johannes Boie, Til Biermann, Ole Kröning, Isabel Pfannkuche, Matthias Lukashewitsch, Katharina Metag, Annika Raasch, Hannes Ravic, Olaf Wagner and Frank Schneider
It’s a sunny morning on Berlin’s Kudamm when, at 10:26 a.m., the roar of an engine drowns out the summer hustle and bustle. Barely a minute later, a woman is dead and 12 people are lying on the asphalt with serious injuries. A 200 meter long swath of devastation stretches across the boulevard, at the end of which a small car is stuck in the window of a perfumery.
AMOK RIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF BERLIN!
General view of the emergency response at the Kurfuerstendamm-Tauentzienstrasse junction after a car crashed into a group of people before hitting a storefront in Berlin, Germany June 8, 2022. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
In a silver Renault Clio with a Berlin license plate, the speeder races down the Kudamm in the direction of Wittenbergplatz. At the level of the Memorial Church, he steers the car off the road onto the small square in front of the Levi’s store. Tourists stroll there, as well as the 10th class of a secondary school from Hesse with 24 children and two teachers on their final trip.
The car hits the teacher (51), she dies instantly. “I tried to revive the person,” a craftsman later recalled. “Unfortunately, she died.” The second teacher and 14 students are injured.
The amok driver yanks the Renault wheel around and drives back onto the road. “Two people were lying on the bonnet,” said a shocked eyewitness to BZ, “The car had 60 to 80 things on it!” People jump to the side, others run away in panic, screams and tears can be heard.
At the next intersection on Marburger Strasse, the driver rams a silver Mercedes, steers onto the sidewalk again, mows down two passers-by, café tables and flower pots before crashing into the window of the Douglas branch.
A rescue helicopter landed on the median of the Tauentzien Photo: MICHELE TANTUSSI/REUTERS
The man gets out, is apparently unharmed, and wants to run away. Witnesses hold the portly bald man until the police arrive. Arrest!
Amok driver whimpered: “Ouch! Ouch!”
While first responders fight for the lives of the seriously injured, the rampage racer is taken away. “Please help, please help,” he stammers. A passer-by calls out to him: “Why do you want help? You almost killed two people!” One injured person is bleeding from the head, passers-by bring him into a stable side position. A man talks to him soothingly: “Hold on! Help is coming soon.”
Dozens of ambulances race up, 130 police officers secure the crime scene, and more than 100 firefighters are on duty. A rescue helicopter lands on the Tauentzien.
Numerous rescue workers and police officers are on duty on the Tauentzien Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa
A pregnant woman suffered a hip fracture and a man an open thigh fracture. A girl (16) is taken to the hospital with traumatic brain injury. Six victims are still in mortal danger in the evening, three others are considered seriously injured.
The police assumed a total of around 20 injuries in the evening. A specific number could not be given because of the dynamic situation, it said. Many people are in psychological care.
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Police officers with submachine guns secure the entire area. It is still unclear whether it was a tragic accident, or a targeted act, or even a terrorist attack. Documents related to Turkey were found in the crime vehicle. A political motive cannot be ruled out – the surrounding buildings are being evacuated for safety reasons. Specialists examine the accident car for booby traps.
Rescue workers take care of an injured person Photo: Spreepicture
While witnesses and relatives are being cared for by pastors in the nearby Memorial Church, the police bring the driver who ran amok to the nearby police station at the Zoo station, where his personal details are checked.
It is the 29-year-old German-Armenian Gor H. – his meaty hands are tied behind his back. “Ouch! he whimpers. He is first taken to a hospital for examination, then transferred to the LKA for questioning.
The driver of the accident was arrested and questioned Photo: Olaf Wagner
“It was by no means an accident,” said an investigator to the BZ “It was a gunman. A stone cold killer.”
The police have activated a reference number ( ☎ 030-5402411) to clarify the exact course of events and are also asking for witnesses, media files and video material on the reference portal of the LKA.
Even in the evening, the police are still on site, collecting clues. According to the officials there, the preservation of evidence should run until late Wednesday evening. The aim is to open the road again. According to investigators, the on-site investigations will continue on Thursday.
