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Suspect in Berlin Attack Is Shot Dead in Milan Berlin Attack Suspect Is Killed by Police Near Milan
(about 1 hour later)
ROME — Anis Amri, the chief suspect in the deadly terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin this week, was killed by the police in a shootout outside Milan around 3 a.m. Friday, ending a brief but intense manhunt across Europe, Italian officials announced.ROME — Anis Amri, the chief suspect in the deadly terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin this week, was killed by the police in a shootout outside Milan around 3 a.m. Friday, ending a brief but intense manhunt across Europe, Italian officials announced.
Mr. Amri, during a routine traffic stop, was asked to show identification papers. He immediately opened fire and shot the officer who had asked for his papers. The second police officer opened fire, killing Mr. Amri, officials said. During a routine traffic stop in the suburb of Sesto San Giovanni, north of central Milan, Mr. Amri was asked to show identification papers, Italian officials said. He pulled a pistol from a backpack and shot the officer who had asked for his papers. A second officer then opened fire, killing Mr. Amri.
“The person who attacked our police officers was killed,” Interior Minister Marco Minniti said at a news conference. “There is absolutely no doubt that the person who was killed was Anis Amri, the suspect in the terrorist attack in Berlin.”“The person who attacked our police officers was killed,” Interior Minister Marco Minniti said at a news conference. “There is absolutely no doubt that the person who was killed was Anis Amri, the suspect in the terrorist attack in Berlin.”
Law enforcement authorities across Europe had been hunting since Wednesday for Mr. Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian who moved to Italy in 2011 and then relocated to Germany in 2015. Law enforcement authorities across Europe had been hunting since Wednesday for Mr. Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian who moved to Italy in 2011 and then relocated to Germany in 2015. How one of the most wanted men in Europe was able to travel seemingly freely after an attack that left at least 12 people dead will no doubt be a crucial question for investigators.
He was described as armed and dangerous, and a reward of 100,000 euros, or about $104,000, was offered for information leading to his capture. Mr. Amri entered Italy from France; he had passed through Chambéry, a city in southeastern France, before making his way to Turin, Italy, and then to Milan, where he arrived by train around 1 a.m. Friday, the top antiterrorism officer in Milan, Alberto Nobili, was quoted as saying by DPA, the German news agency.
“As soon as this person entered our country, he was the most wanted man in Europe, and we immediately identified him and neutralized him,” Mr. Minniti said, though he did not specify when the police learned that Mr. Amri had entered Italy. “This means that our security is working really well.” The Islamic State has called Mr. Amri “a soldier” who “carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition,” but whether Mr. Amri had any direct contact with the terrorist group — or whether he had any accomplices — is not yet known. Mr. Amri was reportedly a guest of a man named Boban S., who lived in the German city of Dortmund and had connections with Abu Walaa, an Iraqi-born Salafist preacher known as the man with no face, because he often preached with his back to the camera.
Paolo Gentiloni, who took office as prime minister of Italy earlier this month, praised Italian security services at a separate news conference in Rome.
“What happened last night in Sesto San Giovanni clearly highlights the importance of an increased control of the territory — of the collaboration between security forces and armed forces, and the importance to increase collaboration also at the international level,” Mr. Gentiloni said at the government headquarters, the Palazzo Chigi.
Mr. Gentiloni said that he informed Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Friday morning. He also expressed sympathy to the family of Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, a 31-year-old Italian expatriate in Berlin who died in the attack on Monday. Mr. Gentiloni called her “an exemplary Italian.”
Mr. Amri had been described as armed and dangerous, and a reward of 100,000 euros, or about $104,000, was offered for information leading to his capture after the attack, which injured 53 people, 14 of them seriously, according to updated information released on Friday.
“As soon as this person entered our country, he was the most wanted man in Europe, and we immediately identified him and neutralized him,” Mr. Minniti said, although it seemed clear that the traffic stop was routine and not part of a directed effort to find Mr. Amri. “This means that our security is working really well.”
Mr. Minniti was joined at the news conference by Franco Gabrielli, the chief of the state police, and by Gen. Tullio Del Sette, the commander of the Carabinieri. Mr. Minniti declined to discuss the details of the operation, noting that the investigation was still underway.Mr. Minniti was joined at the news conference by Franco Gabrielli, the chief of the state police, and by Gen. Tullio Del Sette, the commander of the Carabinieri. Mr. Minniti declined to discuss the details of the operation, noting that the investigation was still underway.
The officer whom Mr. Amri shot, identified as Cristian Movio, 36, was wounded in the shoulder, and needs to undergo surgery, but the injury did not appear to be serious, according to Mr. Minniti. The other officer, who shot Mr. Amri, was identified as Luca Scatà, 29. In Germany, officials expressed relief that Europe’s most intensive manhunt appeared to have been brought to a successful conclusion — but faced tough questions about how and why Mr. Amri eluded the authorities in the months before the attack.
Panorama, an Italian newsmagazine, reported that Mr. Amri was killed in a routine traffic stop at 3 a.m. in the Piazza I Maggio in Sesto San Giovanni district in northern Milan. He had been ordered deported in June, but bureaucratic obstacles prevented the authorities from following through. And in September, the authorities stopped electronic monitoring of Mr. Amri, even though he had been identified as a security risk.
At a news conference in Berlin, Martin Schäfer, a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office, said that “the federal government is in close contact with the Italian authorities, but we do not as yet have official confirmation” of Mr. Amri’s death. But he and officials expressed gratitude to the Italian government, and said there was no serious doubt that Mr. Amri had been killed.
The officer whom Mr. Amri shot, identified as Cristian Movio, 35, was wounded in the shoulder, and needs to undergo surgery, but the injury did not appear to be serious, according to Mr. Minniti. The other officer, who shot Mr. Amri, was identified as Luca Scatà, 29.
Panorama, an Italian newsmagazine, reported that Mr. Amri was killed in a routine traffic stop at 3 a.m. in the Piazza I Maggio in northern Milan.
Mr. Amri left Tunisia, according to his relatives, with dreams of making money and buying a car. After arriving in Italy, he was a violent inmate who spent time in six jails.Mr. Amri left Tunisia, according to his relatives, with dreams of making money and buying a car. After arriving in Italy, he was a violent inmate who spent time in six jails.
In Germany, he was one of about 550 people identified as a danger to the state and placed under special surveillance.In Germany, he was one of about 550 people identified as a danger to the state and placed under special surveillance.
Yet he was able to ignore deportation orders and brushes with the law, roaming freely until he was believed to have seized a truck, killed its Polish driver, and rammed it into a crowded market Monday night at Breitscheidplatz, a main square in Berlin.Yet he was able to ignore deportation orders and brushes with the law, roaming freely until he was believed to have seized a truck, killed its Polish driver, and rammed it into a crowded market Monday night at Breitscheidplatz, a main square in Berlin.
Thanks to the brave efforts of police officers, “the Italians can have a very happy Christmas,” Mr. Minniti said. “Italy should be really proud of our security.”Thanks to the brave efforts of police officers, “the Italians can have a very happy Christmas,” Mr. Minniti said. “Italy should be really proud of our security.”
Mr. Minniti then added that he was “entirely satisfied” with the operation. “These people in our police forces are exceptional,” he said. “The police officer who was shot is so young, and he was just doing his job, yet he did an extraordinary service to the community, both him and the driver. I sincerely think this. I think that the whole country will agree with me and will want to tell them, these two policemen.”Mr. Minniti then added that he was “entirely satisfied” with the operation. “These people in our police forces are exceptional,” he said. “The police officer who was shot is so young, and he was just doing his job, yet he did an extraordinary service to the community, both him and the driver. I sincerely think this. I think that the whole country will agree with me and will want to tell them, these two policemen.”