A Woman from Vienna in Berlin:

“We fled the park in mortal fear”

Grief and shock in Berlin. Patrizia (left), a resident of Vienna, on the day after the attack(Bild: Krone-Collage/zVg, AFP/RALF HIRSCHBERGER)

An eerie silence reigns the day after the bloody attack in Berlin. Just a few hours before the attack, Christopher Street Day had taken place. After the colorful parade, the vibrant metropolis transformed into an open-air party that came to an abrupt end. Austrians like 23-year-old Patrizia were also there.

The shock runs deep. In the summer, Berlin is a melting pot of tourists; others are here for work or internships, just like Patrizia from Vienna. The 23-year-old medical student was wrapping up the evening with friends in the Tiergarten, the city’s green lung, when terror struck the German capital.

“Helicopters were circling with searchlights”
“We were about a five-minute walk from the scene when the word ‘Evacuation’ suddenly appeared on the stage,” she reported in an interview with the “Krone.” She was told to avoid Potsdamer Platz and the Victory Column. “No one knew what had happened. A large contingent of emergency responders was on the scene immediately. I counted seven ambulances; helicopters were circling with searchlights,” the Viennese woman continued.

It was clear to us that something terrible must have happened.

Die Wiener Studentin Patrizia war in der Nähe des Anschlagsortes.

It was clear that something terrible must have happened. “In mortal fear, we fled the park.” They eventually learned about the attack via their smartphones and followed the news. In the blink of an eye, the streets and squares were completely deserted. 

The next day, a deep sense of grief prevailed at the site where the bloodbath had brought the huge open-air party to an abrupt end. People laid down flowers and lit candles. 

Police officers with machine guns
Marlon and Christian also stopped by. The two are draped in the rainbow flag and are deeply shaken. “We were partying in Tiergarten. We then went over to the other park because it was packed here; we actually wanted to sit on a bench that was lying right in the van’s path shortly afterward. Five minutes later, there was a loud bang and a huge scream.”

At first, they didn’t know what was going on. But when police officers with machine guns cleared the park, it became clear. 

Marlon and Christian heard a loud bang and a huge scream.(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

We’d had a strange gut feeling all day, but decided to go anyway.

Marlon und Christian, Partyteilnehmer

Bindo Sodhi, a Berlin resident, runs a restaurant not far from the scene of the crime. She is shocked: “I saw the fire trucks and ambulances and wondered what had happened.”

Later, she learned that the attacker had driven his car into the crowd: “I’m so sorry that the event ended this way. I’d been watching all day how happily people were celebrating.”

Bindo Sodhi runs a restaurant near the scene of the attack.(Bild: zVg)

I’m so sorry that this event ended this way; earlier, I’d been watching all the happy people in the trucks.

Bindo Sodhi, Restaurantbesitzerin

“Above all, we felt safe”
“Krone” journalist Christoph Engelmaier was also on the scene when the attack happened: “The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was lively. The streets were as crowded as ever. 700,000 people had come. We were celebrating and dancing. Above all, we felt safe. The CSD is, after all, very well secured.”

“Krone” journalist Christoph Engelmaier attends Christopher Street Day every year.(Bild: zVg)

There was absolutely no indication that this beautiful day would end so terribly and sadly.

Christoph Engelmaier

The atmosphere after the attack was “eerie”: “It all felt so surreal. Shortly afterward, I called the editorial office in Vienna and gradually began to realize just how incredibly lucky I was.” Because: “It could have happened to anyone.”

A young woman was killed in the attack on Saturday evening, and 29 people were injured, some seriously. On Sunday afternoon, the police issued a slight reassurance regarding the injured: None of those affected were in critical condition anymore, said a police spokesperson. None of the injured in the hospitals are currently in a critical, life-threatening condition. A manhunt is underway for the suspected perpetrator; his passenger has since been arrested.