The police said the suspected attack happened shortly before 10 p.m. in the Tiergarten, a major park in the city center, and that a hunt for a suspect or suspects was underway after the vehicle was found crashed into a tree and abandoned. At least 16 people had injuries, some life-threatening, and some were said to have suffered stab wounds, according to the police.
Early Sunday, Florian Nath, a spokesman for Berlin’s police, said in an interview that they had identified one suspect: a man who was involved in local Islamic groups and who was already well-known to the police. Mr. Nath did not specify the nature of the groups.
The police later named the man as 21-year-old Abdul B., withholding the last name per German privacy laws, and released a photo in an appeal for help locating him.
Police did not say whether the suspect was an immigrant or born in Germany. Nor did they say if he had links to any foreign actors. In recent months, as the United States and Israel have engaged in war against Iran, German intelligence officials have privately warned of the threat of Tehran-sponsored attacks on German soil.
The police had a “strong suspicion” the episode was an act of terrorism, Mr. Nath said, adding that their focus was on finding the suspect and determining if he acted as part of an organized group.