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Berlin Christmas Market Was Target of Terrorist Attack, Angela Merkel Says Berlin Christmas Market Was Target of Terrorist Attack, Angela Merkel Says
(about 1 hour later)
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said that the Berlin Christmas market where 12 people died Monday night was the target of a terrorist attack. BERLIN — A terrorist attack using a tractor-trailer to plow through a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin left Germans stunned and shocked on Tuesday, and the authorities scrambling to determine who was behind the nation’s bloodiest assault in decades.
The German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said that a man arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack was a 23-year-old Pakistani who had applied for asylum. The aftermath of the attack mixed a strong sense of mourning with anger on the right and a dawning nationwide realization that Germany, too, now counted itself among the front ranks of European countries, alongside France and Belgium, that have suffered large-scale attacks in recent years.
“We must assume at the current time that it was a terrorist attack,” Ms. Merkel said on Tuesday. “I know that it would be particularly difficult for all of us to bear if it is confirmed that this deed was carried out by a person who sought protection and asylum in Germany.” Early in the day, a somber chancellor, Angela Merkel, dressed in black, acknowledged what people across Europe had been fearing with the approach of the holiday season: One of the Continent’s ubiquitous Christmas markets appeared to have been targeted for assault, killing 12 and injuring dozens.
It would also greatly amplify the political problems Ms. Merkel already faces over her government’s policy of admitting refugees by the hundreds of thousands. The policy has come under mounting criticism, both from her allies and from the far right of the political spectrum. “We must assume at the current time that it was a terrorist attack,” Ms. Merkel told reporters on Tuesday.
Ms. Merkel, dressed in black, made a brief appearance before reporters Tuesday morning, saying that she was “horrified, shaken and deeply sad.” Those behind the killings would be punished “as severely as our laws demand,” Ms. Merkel said. She later appeared in a black wool coat, bearing a white rose to lay at a memorial outside of the church in the heart of western Berlin, where a traditional holiday market was transformed into a scene of carnage late Monday.
In the attack, a tractor-trailer truck jumped a sidewalk around 8 p.m. and plowed into the market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a symbolic Berlin site whose spire, jagged from bomb damage, was intentionally left unrepaired after World War II. Even as she was mourning, Peter Frank, the country’s federal prosecutor, insisted that while the similarities to last summer’s Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, led his office to suspect that the Berlin attack was motivated by terrorism, he was unable to produce any hard evidence.
Witnesses saw one person, presumably the driver, exit the truck, and some of them followed the fleeing person and notified the police, prosecutors said. . A 23-year-old Pakistani was detained roughly an hour after the attack, but through the day German authorities mixed habitual caution with what appeared to be growing uncertainty that the young man, who may have entered the country seeking asylum last December, was indeed the driver of the truck.
The police later arrested a man near the scene who was suspected of involvement. The chief of police in Berlin, Klaus Kandt, told reporters on Tuesday that “it is actually not clear” whether the man they had arrested was the driver. “We are investigating in all directions,” Mr. Frank said, explaining that he decided to start an investigation given the symbolism of the target and the timing, less than a week before Christmas Eve.
The chief federal prosecutor, Peter Frank, noted at a news conference that “a suspect is not a perpetrator,” and he said the investigation of the man was a priority, but not the only one in the case. He added that the authorities did not yet know whether any group was behind the attack or if anyone else was involved. “We have not limited ourselves to one suspect or one possible perpetrator,” he added, “But we can’t make a final assessment whether it is a terrorism-motivated attack, or whether it was a copycat act.”
According to Mr. de Maizière, the suspect entered Germany and registered as an applicant for asylum on Dec. 31, 2015, and reached Berlin in February. Several hearings were scheduled in his asylum case, Mr. de Maizière said, but the man did not appear at some of them, and there were problems with translation at others. As a result, his application has not been processed. In a country where a painful experience with fascism has placed personal privacy at a premium, the investigation was sure to be complicated by the absence of surveillance cameras that have become the norm in cities like London.
Mr. de Maizière said the suspect had denied any involvement in the attack. Instead, officials appealed to witnesses and the public to provide tips or video of the crime scene and any suspects, and to avoid posting them on social media outlets.
German officials are normally tight-lipped about high-profile investigations, preferring to withhold any information until they have clear answers.
The readiness to go public at such an early stage of the investigation reflects the sensitivity of the issue and the political problems Ms. Merkel already faces over her government’s policy of admitting refugees by the hundreds of thousands.
That policy, though welcomed at the time, has come under mounting criticism over the last year, as Germany has been targeted by a series of smaller, less deadly, but unnerving incidents involving foreigners.
“I know that it would be particularly difficult for all of us to bear if it is confirmed that this deed was carried out by a person who sought protection and asylum in Germany,” Ms. Merkel told reporters Tuesday. She vowed to punish those behind the crimes “as severely as our laws demand.”
What authorities can say for certain is that a tractor-trailer with Polish license plates and laden with steel rods jumped a sidewalk around 8 p.m. Monday and plowed into the market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a symbolic Berlin site whose spire, jagged from bomb damage, was intentionally left unrepaired after World War II.
A man believed to be the driver fled after the attack and another man, identified as a Pole, was found dead with gunshot and stab wounds in the passenger seat, police said.
Less than an hour later, a man who Berlin police said witnesses reported seeing fleeing the scene was arrested nearby on suspicion of involvement. The suspect said he had nothing to do with the crime, and the Berlin chief of police, Klaus Kandt, told reporters on Tuesday that “it is actually not clear” whether the man they had arrested was the driver.
Mr. Frank, the chief federal prosecutor, said at a news conference that “a suspect is not a perpetrator” and said the investigation of the man was a priority, but not the only one in the case. He refused to speculate about whether there were others involved in the attack who were still at large.
Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister, said the suspect had been identified as a Pakistani who entered the country on Dec. 31, 2015. Two months later, he arrived in Berlin and applied for asylum.
Although several hearings were scheduled in his asylum case, the man did not show up for several of them and his application was still pending.
Officials in Berlin have been straining to deal with a flood of asylum applications. Although the number of arrivals has slowed recently from a high point in the summer of 2015, tens of thousands remain in communal housing, awaiting processing of their applications.Officials in Berlin have been straining to deal with a flood of asylum applications. Although the number of arrivals has slowed recently from a high point in the summer of 2015, tens of thousands remain in communal housing, awaiting processing of their applications.
Frauke Petry of Alternative for Germany, a far-right opposition party that has been gaining strength, said in a statement early Tuesday that “Germany is no longer safe.”
Noting the successive terrorist attacks in France, including a truck driven into a crowded beachfront promenade in Nice in July, Ms. Petry called the carnage at the Berlin market “not just an attack on our freedom and our way of life but also on our Christian tradition.”
In addition to the 12 dead, 48 people were wounded at the Berlin market, 18 of them critically, Mr. de Maizière said.In addition to the 12 dead, 48 people were wounded at the Berlin market, 18 of them critically, Mr. de Maizière said.
Seeking clues about the attacker and his motives, the German special police conducted a search at the refugee shelter at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin early Tuesday, a security official said, declining to give details. The president of the federal criminal police, Holger Münch, said investigators were collecting evidence and using forensics to try to determine whether the suspect in detention had been driving the truck.
The Berlin police appealed to anyone who was at the Christmas market or in the area on Monday night to send them any videos or photographs of the attack and to refrain from posting the material on social media. Security officials have been warning that Germany remains in the sights of terrorists, without naming any specific threats. Coming as many families were winding down their work for the year and readying holiday festivities, the attack left the country in subdued shock. Other Christmas markets in the city remained closed on Tuesday, and flags were lowered to half-staff.
Mr. de Maizière made a similar appeal, noting that the country’s security depended on tips from the public.
The president of the federal criminal police, Holger Münch, said investigators were collecting evidence at the scene and were asking the public for any information that could help piece together the sequence of events leading to the attack.
Mr. Münch noted that his agency had warned of a possible terrorist attack, and that the events in Berlin had confirmed that the threat was serious.
The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel said the search of the shelter at Tempelhof occurred around 4 a.m. No arrests were made, according to the radio station Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, which cited a city security official whom it did not identify.
“Twelve people were among us yesterday and were happy about Christmas and the holidays,” Ms. Merkel said. “This is incomprehensible, this act that robbed them of their lives.”“Twelve people were among us yesterday and were happy about Christmas and the holidays,” Ms. Merkel said. “This is incomprehensible, this act that robbed them of their lives.”
She said she was meeting with Germany’s interior and justice ministers and would visit the Christmas market later in the day. “We don’t want to do without Christmas markets, without nice outings together,” she said. “We do not wish to let fear and angst take away our freedom to live.” She urged people not to bow to fear and suspicion, telling Germans they must continue to uphold their traditions, even when faced with the reality that democracy is vulnerable. “We don’t want to do without Christmas markets, without nice outings together,” she said. “We do not wish to let fear and angst take away our freedom to live.”
Mr. de Maizière said that Berlin’s Christmas markets should close for a day, but he added that, in general, Germany’s many holiday-themed markets and other events should continue to take place. He said that there would be an increased security presence and that local officials would make decisions about particular aspects of events that might need to be curtailed for safety reasons. He also said that security would be heightened at railway stations and other public facilities. Mr. de Maizière said there would be increased security in public places and at key transit hubs, and that local officials would make decisions about events that might need to be curtailed for safety reasons.
Officials have been aware for some time of the risk of attacks on holiday-themed events in Europe. The State Department issued a travel alert on Nov. 21 recommending that Americans “exercise caution at holiday festivals, events, and outdoor markets” throughout the Continent. Officials have been aware for some time of the risk of attacks on holiday-themed events in Europe. The State Department issued a travel alert on Nov. 21 recommending that Americans “exercise caution at holiday festivals, events and outdoor markets” throughout the Continent.
“Credible information” indicated that the Islamic State, its affiliates and sympathizers “continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events,” the alert said, and that an attack could come with little or no warning.“Credible information” indicated that the Islamic State, its affiliates and sympathizers “continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events,” the alert said, and that an attack could come with little or no warning.
The general mood in Berlin was subdued on Tuesday. People went about their business calmly but much more quietly than usual, and they were reluctant to speak to reporters — or, seemingly, even to one another. Germany’s populists seized on the attack to drub the chancellor for her immigration policy. Frauke Petry of the Alternative for Germany party said in a statement early Tuesday that “Germany was no longer safe” and told citizens that it would be Ms. Merkel’s “duty to tell you that.”
“People are a little bit taking time off, and a little bit afraid,” said Memo El-Schafie, 47, a vendor at a coffee and cake stand in the Stadtmitte subway station, where there were notably few passengers for a weekday morning. Noting the successive terrorist attacks in France, including the Nice attack in July, Ms. Petry called the carnage at the Berlin market “not just an attack on our freedom and our way of life, but also on our Christian tradition.”
Heiko Maas, the German federal justice minister, said on Tuesday that the events “not only hit Berlin right in its heart, but hit us all.” Ariel Zurawski, the head of the Polish company that owned the truck, said the dead man was his cousin Lukasz, who was 37 and married with a child.
The truck that plowed into the market belonged to a Polish company, and more signs emerged on Tuesday that it had been hijacked. He said that Lukasz had been driving a shipment of construction materials to Berlin from Italy and that he had identified Lukas from police photographs of the dead man. German officials declined to give further information on the victim.
Mr. de Maizière said that one of the 12 people killed in Berlin was a Polish man who was found dead with a gunshot wound in the passenger seat of the truck. The gun that caused the injury has not been recovered, he said. Officials indicated that they considered the Polish man a victim and not a perpetrator. The side of the market where the truck slammed into the crowd remained cordoned off early Tuesday.
Ariel Zurawski, the head of the company that owned the truck, said the dead man was his cousin Lukasz, a driver for the company who was 37 and married with a child. He said he had identified his cousin from police photographs. Police officers patrolled the area, as Berlin residents bearing flowers and candles placed them at makeshift memorials on either side of the church.
The company’s transportation manager, Lukasz Wasik, said the driver had taken a load of construction materials to Berlin from Italy and was to unload them Tuesday morning. According to satellite tracking data received from the truck, Mr. Wasik said, the truck was parked in Berlin, and then “something started to happen around 4 p.m.”
Mr. Wasik said the signals showed that several inexpert attempts were made to start the truck’s engine over the course of three hours, and that the truck then “ left in the direction of this Christmas market,” about six miles away.
The side of the market where the truck slammed into the crowd remained cordoned off early Tuesday. Police officers patrolled the area, as Berlin residents bearing flowers and candles placed them at makeshift memorials on either side of the church.
Oliver Horn said he had written the slogan “Même pas peur” (French for “Not even afraid”) from the aftermath of the Nice attacks, on a poster and hung it near the site on his way to work on Tuesday.Oliver Horn said he had written the slogan “Même pas peur” (French for “Not even afraid”) from the aftermath of the Nice attacks, on a poster and hung it near the site on his way to work on Tuesday.
“It just came to my mind,” he said of the gesture. “I felt I had to do something.”“It just came to my mind,” he said of the gesture. “I felt I had to do something.”
The sign caught the attention of Cyril Leteuil, who was visiting Berlin from Bordeaux. “It’s just like Nice,” he said. “We’ve seen this in France.”The sign caught the attention of Cyril Leteuil, who was visiting Berlin from Bordeaux. “It’s just like Nice,” he said. “We’ve seen this in France.”