A car drove into a crowd in Berlin, killing 1 person, police say

A car plowed through crowd of people in a busy shopping area in Berlin on Wednesday, and police are trying to determine whether it was a terrorist attack. At least one person died and several others were seriously hurt, according to police in Berlin.

Five people suffered life-threatening injuries, according to Deutsche Welle.

Emergency responders have kept the man who was driving the car at the scene, according to the Berlin police department.

The car's driver is a German man of Armenian descent who is 29, police said, adding that he was initially detained by witnesses before being handed over to emergency personnel.

The incident took place on Tauenzienstrasse, a street well-known for shopping in western Berlin's Charlottenburg district. Around 60 emergency personnel rushed to the site after the crash, Berlin's fire department said.

In Germany, the incident quickly stirred public speculation over a possible motive, with many people noting that it took place near Breitscheidplatz — where a man drove a hijacked truck through a Christmas market in 2016, killing a dozen people in what was deemed a terrorist attack.

But police and other authorities are warning against leaping to any conclusions about Wednesday's tragic event, noting that the investigation has just begun.

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