Berlin Christmas Market Attack Terror Suspect In Custody, Truck Has Been Identified [Updated]
A Berlin Christmas market was the target of a terrorist attack Monday evening in an attack that gave Europe a deadly reminder of a similar attack in Nice, France earlier this year. In the current Berlin terrorist attack, as in Nice, a driver used a truck to plow into a crowd of people at a bustling Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz, a square in the heart of Berlin.
[See Update section below for current information.]
Current reports as the news broke on Inquisitr indicate that nine are dead and more than 50 are injured in the Berlin Christmas market attack. Packed in advance of the Christmas holiday, which is just six days away, the Berlin market is said to be hard to access by accident. Monday evening, a truck with two individuals inside plowed into the crowd.
According to the Guardian, Berlin police are now reporting that a suspect in the Berlin truck attack has been taken into custody, though they have not, at this time, released the name or a description of the suspect.
A suspicious person was arrested near #Breitscheidplatz. Whether it is the driver of the truck, is currently under consideration.
— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 19, 2016
The Berlin police also report that the passenger in the truck was killed “on the spot,” though details about the manner of the passenger’s death are not available, nor is a description or name of that individual.
The passenger of the truck, who drove to the Christmas market at #Breitscheidplatz, died on the spot.
— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 19, 2016
The Guardian also is reporting that the truck used in the Berlin Christmas market attack has been identified as being registered in Poland.
“The lorry belongs to a Polish haulage company and is registered in Gdansk, according to local media reports. The owner of the company, named only as Ariel Z, gave an interview to Polish radio TVN24 on Monday evening, saying his cousin had been travelling to Berlin in the lorry.”
German police are asking that citizens refrain from going to the Berlin Christmas market scene so that they can keep all routes clear.
[Update On Berlin Christmas Market Terrorist Attack]
The Berlin Christmas market attack scene is still active, but Berlin police report that fire fighters have finished their rescue work. Briefly during the evening police were investigating a “suspicious item” found at the Christmas market, but the item was found to be a sleeping bag. Police continue to ask locals to stay away from the site as they continue their investigation, which will be conducted by a special team.
Police have also revised the number of causalities in Berlin. They now report that 12 people have been killed in the terrorist attack.
A sad certainty: Today 12 people died at #Breitscheidplatz, 48 partially seriously injured are cared for by hospitals.
— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 20, 2016
Berlin police say that the truck used to conduct the attack was likely stolen from a construction site in Poland, and confirm that it does have Polish licensing and registration. They report that the investigation into the origin of the truck is ongoing.
There is, as of yet, no word on the identity of the suspect who is in custody or that of the passenger of the truck, who is reported deceased at the scene.
The Berlin Christmas market attack seems to have been a repeat of the strategy used by terrorists to attack Nice, France on July 14 2016. In that attack, a man named Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a 19 ton cargo truck into a crowd that had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day, killing 86 people and wounding hundreds of others. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was subsequently killed in a shootout with police.
The investigation into the Berlin Christmas market terrorist attack is ongoing, and the scene remains active.
[Featured Image by Markus Schreiber/AP Images]
