Car steered into crowd: Scholz speaks of “cruel amoktat”
Status: 09.06.2022 00:27
“Deeply affected”: Chancellor Scholz expressed his condolences to the relatives after the “cruel amok act” near the Berlin Memorial Church. A woman had been killed. The exact background is still unclear.
After the deadly car ride in Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of a “cruel amok act”. This made him “deeply affected,” wrote the SPD politician on Twitter on Wednesday evening. The trip of a Hessian school class to Berlin ended in a nightmare. “We are thinking of the relatives of the dead and the injured, including many children. I wish you all a speedy recovery.”
In addition to Scholz, many other politicians also expressed grief and sympathy. “My thoughts are with the seriously and very seriously injured, with the fatalities,” said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for example. “And they are with those who had to experience terrible things. My deepest sympathy goes to them, all their relatives and survivors.”
Autorast in the crowd in the Berlin shopping street
Griet von Peterdorff, RBB, daily topics 10:15 p.m., June 8, 2022
Killed a teacher in a class in Bad Arolsen
The school group from Bad Arolsen was hit by a car near the Memorial Church and their teacher was killed. 14 people were injured police. A suspect – a 29-year-old German-Armenian living in Berlin – was caught and taken to a hospital.
The Berlin Senate Department for the Interior quoted Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) on Twitter in the evening as saying that, according to the latest information, the event “presents itself as an amok act by a mentally handicapped person”. They did not give any more details. A spokesman for the Berlin police also told the dpa news agency in the evening that there were indications “that support the theory of a psychological state of emergency”. However, this is one of several versions, so investigations are being carried out in all directions.
Police chief Barbara Slowik had previously also emphasized the openness of the investigations on RBB: “Nothing at all” was ruled out at the moment. The investigation would be conducted by a homicide squad. Among other things, the driver’s apartment in Charlottenburg was searched.
Arndt Breitfeld, RBB, on the investigation of the incident in the Berlin shopping street
daily topics 10:15 p.m., 8.6.2022
Investigators rely on witness statements
The investigators also expect a lot from videos and photos of witnesses. In addition to documents, posters with inscriptions were also found in the car. There is no real letter of confession, said Interior Senator Spranger. Police circles had previously said that a letter of confession had been found. Spranger spoke of “posters” that would contain statements about Turkey. According to dpa information, the driver was driving a car that belonged to his older sister. He is said to have been known to the police for several offences, but not linked to extremism.
In the evening, numerous people commemorated the woman killed and the injured in the Memorial Church. Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus (Greens), Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey and Senator for Education Astrid-Sabine Busse (both SPD), but also emergency services from the fire brigade and police were on site. Many citizens also express their deep sympathy during the prayer.
The scene of the accident is not far from where an Islamist assassin drove a truck through a Christmas market in December 2016. A total of 13 people died and more than 70 were injured as a result of the long-term effects. The area is often very busy due to the many shops, cafes and sights. The case also brought back memories in Berlin of a rampage on the A100 city autobahn in August 2020, when a driver deliberately rammed three motorcyclists. He was committed to psychiatry by the court.
Emergency care teams are designed to help loved ones
Hesse’s Minister of Education, Alexander Lorz (CDU), said that emergency care teams had been sent to Bad Arolsen to help relatives, classmates and teachers. A team from the school is on its way to Berlin to support the young people on site and their parents. The students concerned should find a contact point in their school.
This Thursday, the school will receive the students who are being brought back from Berlin by bus, said Bad Arolsen Mayor Marko Lambion. A graduating class with 24 students at a secondary school in Bad Arolsen was affected. They should be monitored and caught.