Madeline Chambers

BERLIN, (Reuters) – A car that drove through a crowd in Berlin killed one man when it veered off the pavement in a tourist- and shopper-friendly area.

The driver was identified by police as a German-Armenian 29-year old who crashed his car into a window of a shop. He was then taken into custody by witnesses and turned over to authorities.

Germany’s Bild magazine identified the victim to be a teacher walking along with several of her children on the street.

A police spokesperson in Berlin stated that more than 12 people sustained injuries. The scene was located near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church which is one of Berlin’s most iconic landmarks.

According to a spokesperson from the fire service, five injured people were considered life-threatening.

A man was believed to have hit a group of people. Police said it is still not clear if the accident was accidental or deliberate.

The police stated that they were currently at the scene along with approximately 130 emergency workers. The vehicle was a small one and it was taken to the police station.

A spokesperson from the police said that investigators are looking at whether it was intentional attack or an accident due to medical reasons.

An Interior Ministry spokesperson stated that “it is too early for speculation about the background (of this incident)” at Berlin’s regular federal government news conference.

Bild published a photo of the driver in detention wearing a yellow pullover and jogging pants, as well as red trainers.

Reuters photos showed that blankets were used to cover what looked like a dead body, in a protected area. One small silver-coloured body. Renault After smashing through the plate glass window, the car got stuck in a shop.

The rescue workers helped two women who were apparently unconscious to move on stretchers toward an ambulance. One woman was able to sit up and the other covered her face with her hands.

John Barrowman was an actor present at the scene and told Sky News UK that he saw a woman being taken into an ambulance. It looked as if they were trying to revive someone.

This site was located on a busy shopping street close to a McDonald’s (NYSE) restaurant. It was closed off. A helicopter was seen above by passersby. (Graphic: Crash in Berlin – https://graphics.reuters.com/GERMANY-CRASH/gkplgzoxjvb/chart.png)

It took place close to the scene of the fatal attack of Dec. 19, 2016, in which Anis Amri (a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker with Islamist links) hijacked a truck. After killing the driver, the truck was driven into a busy Christmas market in Berlin. This killed eleven more and left many others injured.

Amri fled then to Italy where he was shot by the police.

According to a spokesperson for police, police learned from their 2016 experience when dealing with the Wednesday incident.