A truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday evening, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others, police said, in what appeared to be one of the deadliest attacks in Germany in decades.
German police have arrested a suspect near the scene of the Berlin Christmas market where a truck plowed into a crowd, and are investigating whether he was the driver, the police said on Twitter.
READ MORE: Berlin Christmas market truck tragedy described by witnesses
The suspect’s nationality is still unclear, police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf told reporters. The suspect, who fled the crash scene and was later arrested, was being interrogated by officers.
He added that the crashed truck had a Polish license plate and that German officials were in contact with Polish authorities.
The Polish owner of the truck said he feared the vehicle, driven by his cousin, may have been hijacked. Ariel Zurawki said he last spoke with the driver around noon, and the driver told him he was in Berlin and scheduled to unload Tuesday morning.
“They must have done something to my driver,” he told TVN24.
Police said there were no indications of further dangerous situations in the area and urged people to stay away from scene.
A passenger in the truck was killed during the crash, which killed twelve people and injured dozens, police said.
Local media, citing police at the scene, said first indications pointed to an attack on the market, situated at the foot of the ruined Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which was kept as a bombed-out ruin after World War Two.
Germany’s justice minister says that federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, are taking over the investigation after a truck rammed into a Christmas market in Berlin.
Heiko Maas didn’t give further details in a post on Twitter Monday night about the “shocking news” from the capital. He added: “we are mourning with the relatives” of the victims.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday condemned the incident linking it to “Islamist terrorists” before German police officials had said who was responsible.
Trump, in a statement, said “ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad,” using an acronym for Islamic State.
On Twitter, he said the attack, along with others in Turkey and Switzerland, showed “it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking!”
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the circumstances of the crash were still unclear, but a lot pointed to an attack.
“We don’t yet have anything conclusive regarding the circumstances and the course of events,” de Maiziere told ARD public television, adding that investigators were working hard to put together all the pieces of evidence.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘attack’ yet although a lot points to that,” the minister said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also being briefed on the incident by de Maiziere and the mayor of Berlin, a government spokesman said.
“I’m deeply shaken about the horrible news of what occurred at the memorial church in Berlin,” Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. “Many people who visited the Christmas market today have died and even more are injured.”
The circumstances of Monday’s deadly truck crash at a Christmas market in Berlin is still unclear, a senior German official said, dismissing as speculation reports that the truck could have been hijacked by militants.
“The sequence of events point to either an accident or an attack,” Berlin State Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement it was still unclear exactly what had happened. Security officials are trying to secure the site and find those responsible, he said.
WATCH: Police investigate truck that plowed into Christmas market killing 9
Canadian officials are working to confirm details and are in contact with the embassy in Germany. Canadians in the country who need assistance are asked to call the embassy.
The incident evoked memories of an attack in France in July when Tunisian-born man drove a 19-tonne truck along the beach front, mowing down people who had gathered to watch the fireworks on Bastille Day, killing 86 people. The attack was claimed by Islamic State.
READ MORE: More arrests made in wake of Nice truck attack that left 86 dead
The truck careered into the Berlin market at what would have been one of the most crowded times for the Christmas market, when adults and children would be gathering in the traditional cluster of wooden huts that sell food and Christmas goods.
WATCH: Cell phone video shows moments after truck slams into Christmas market in Berlin
“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.”
Police cars and ambulances converged quickly on the scene as a huge security operation unfolded.
Emma Rushton, a tourist visiting Berlin, told CNN the truck seemed to be traveling at about 65 km/h.
WATCH:German police have a suspect in custody after a truck plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin today. At least nine people were killed, dozens of shoppers were injured. It’s not clear what the motivation was, and police say they are not certain the man arrested is, in fact, the truck driver. Eric Sorensen reports.
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.
Witnesses shared photos of the scene to social media in the aftermath.
*With files from the Associated Press and Global News.
Comments