A truck in Berlin plowed into a crowded Christmas market in the center of that German city Monday evening, killing at least nine people and injuring as many as 50 others.
Police say the truck ran into the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
A short while later, as details began to emerge, witnesses began describing the crash as intentional.
WATCH: Video from the scene
The German newspaper Bild said the truck driver fled the scene. However, authorities had not corroborated that report two hours later, and had not confirmed other reports saying the suspected driver had been arrested.
Photos from the scene showed a wrecked vehicle and debris scattered at the crash site. Witnesses were quoted as saying the vehicle was thought to be traveling in excess of 60 kilometers an hour at the moment of impact.
"I heard a big noise and then I moved on the Christmas market and saw much chaos...many injured people," Jan Hollitzer, deputy editor in chief of Berliner Morgenpost, told CNN. "It was really traumatic."
Emma Rushton, a tourist visiting Berlin, told CNN the truck seemed to be traveling at about 40 mph (65 Kmh).
Asked how many were injured, she said that as she walked back to her hotel, she saw at at least 10.
Julian Reichelt, editor in chief of Bild Berlin, said that there was currently a massive security operation under way.
"The scene certainly looks like a reminder of what we have seen in Nice," Reichelt said.
Some material from Reuters was used in this report.