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Berlin Attack Suspect Is Killed by Police Near Milan Berlin Attack Suspect Is Killed by Police Near Milan
(35 minutes later)
SESTO SAN GIOVANNI, Italy — 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.SESTO SAN GIOVANNI, Italy — 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.
During a routine 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 out a pistol and shot the officer who had asked for the papers. A second officer then opened fire, killing Mr. Amri. Stopped in the suburb of Sesto San Giovanni, north of central Milan, Mr. Amri was asked to show identification papers, Italian officials said. He pulled out a pistol and shot the officer who had asked for the 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 issued a Europe-wide warrant on 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.Law enforcement authorities issued a Europe-wide warrant on 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.
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,” and it issued a statement on Friday — via its Amaq News Agency — taking note of the death.
Whether Mr. Amri had any direct contact with the terrorist group is not yet known.
Also unknown is whether he had any accomplices, a question that Peter Frank, Germany’s top federal prosecutor, identified as a priority for investigators. “It is very important now to determine if there was a network of cooperators, a network of supporters, accessories or assistants helping him to prepare the attack, execute the attack and also to escape,” he said at a news conference in Karlsruhe.
A third big question is how such a prominent fugitive managed to leave Germany.
According to tickets the Italian police found on Mr. Amri, he traveled by train to Turin, in northwestern Italy, from Chambéry, France. He then continued to Central Station in Milan, where he arrived around 1 a.m. on Friday.According to tickets the Italian police found on Mr. Amri, he traveled by train to Turin, in northwestern Italy, from Chambéry, France. He then continued to Central Station in Milan, where he arrived around 1 a.m. on Friday.
Surveillance cameras in the station recorded his movements, investigators said. It was not clear how Mr. Amri then made his way to Sesto San Giovanni, about 4.3 miles to the northwest of Central Station. Counterterrorism officials have said that the ease of movement within the 26-country Schengen area poses security challenges. “This mobility is great for the law-abiding and equally great for the non-law-abiding,” said Douglas H. Wise, a former senior C.I.A. officer.
The authorities in Germany initially arrested a different man — later released — in connection with the attack, and that might have given Mr. Amri a head start in fleeing. He would most likely have been able to buy train tickets without having to show identification papers.
Moreover, facial-recognition software in surveillance cameras is still in rudimentary form in much of Europe; surveillance cameras have long been shunned in Germany, given its contemporary emphasis on personal privacy, although that position is being rethought.
Surveillance cameras in the Milan train station recorded Mr. Amri’s movements, Italian investigators said. It was not clear how Mr. Amri then made his way to Sesto San Giovanni, about 4.3 miles to the northwest of Central Station.
“How he traveled there and what he was doing there are subject to delicate investigations,” Antonio De Iesu, director of the Milan police, said at a news conference. “We have to understand whether he was in transit or was awaiting someone.”“How he traveled there and what he was doing there are subject to delicate investigations,” Antonio De Iesu, director of the Milan police, said at a news conference. “We have to understand whether he was in transit or was awaiting someone.”
Mr. Amri was “aggressive, firm and determined,” Mr. De Iesu said. He was carrying a small knife and the equivalent of a few hundred dollars, but no cellphone.Mr. Amri was “aggressive, firm and determined,” Mr. De Iesu said. He was carrying a small knife and the equivalent of a few hundred dollars, but no cellphone.
According to the account provided by Mr. De Ieus, Mr. Amri was standing alone on a piazza in Sesto San Giovanni, next to the northern terminus of the M1 subway line, when the officers stopped him and asked for identification. According to the account provided by Mr. De Iesu, Mr. Amri was standing alone on a piazza in Sesto San Giovanni, next to the northern terminus of the M1 subway line, when the officers stopped him and asked for identification.
Mr. Amri responded, in good Italian with a North African accent, that he was not carrying any documents on him. They asked him to empty his pockets and backpack. That is when he pulled out the pistol.Mr. Amri responded, in good Italian with a North African accent, that he was not carrying any documents on him. They asked him to empty his pockets and backpack. That is when he pulled out the pistol.
“It was a regular patrol, under the new system of intensified police checks on the territory,” Mr. De Iesu said. “They had no perception that it could be him, otherwise they’d have been more careful.”“It was a regular patrol, under the new system of intensified police checks on the territory,” Mr. De Iesu said. “They had no perception that it could be him, otherwise they’d have been more careful.”
Mr. De Iesu denied that Mr. Amri had shouted “God is great” in Arabic, as some local news outlets had reported. “He only shouted ‘police bastards,’ in Italian, after he was shot,” Mr. De Iesu said.Mr. De Iesu denied that Mr. Amri had shouted “God is great” in Arabic, as some local news outlets had reported. “He only shouted ‘police bastards,’ in Italian, after he was shot,” Mr. De Iesu said.
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 in videos of his preaching he often kept his back to the camera. The officer whom Mr. Amri shot, identified as Cristian Movio, 35, was wounded in the shoulder and had surgery on Friday. The other officer, who shot Mr. Amri, was identified as Luca Scatà, 29.
Paolo Gentiloni, who took office as prime minister of Italy this month, praised Italian security services at a separate news conference in Rome. 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 in videos of his preaching he often kept his back to the camera.
“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 his official residence, 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, had been offered for information leading to his capture. The Berlin attack injured 53 people, 14 of them seriously, according to updated information released on Friday.Mr. Amri had been described as armed and dangerous, and a reward of 100,000 euros, or about $104,000, had been offered for information leading to his capture. The Berlin attack 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.” “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 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.
In Germany, officials expressed relief that Europe’s most intensive manhunt appeared to have been brought to a successful conclusion — but they faced tough questions about how and why Mr. Amri eluded the authorities in the months before the attack.In Germany, officials expressed relief that Europe’s most intensive manhunt appeared to have been brought to a successful conclusion — but they faced tough questions about how and why Mr. Amri eluded the authorities in the months before the attack.
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.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 German Foreign Ministry, 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 had surgery on Friday. The other officer, who shot Mr. Amri, was identified as Luca Scatà, 29.
Mr. Amri left Tunisia, according to his relatives, with dreams of making money and buying a car. After arriving in Italy, he spent time in six jails and was a violent inmate.Mr. Amri left Tunisia, according to his relatives, with dreams of making money and buying a car. After arriving in Italy, he spent time in six jails and was a violent inmate.
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.”