Semi-truck slams into Berlin Christmas market

UPDATE (12:20 p.m.): Germany not only previously denied asylum to the man wanted in connection with the Berlin Christmas market attack but also investigated him as a possible terrorist, authorities said today. An international manhunt is ongoing for the Tunisian man, who is in his early 20s and uses various identities. German lawmaker Stephan Mayer said the man has connections to Islamic extremists.

The Tunisian’s documents were found in the truck used in the attack that killed 12 people Monday and injured many others. “This is a suspect, not necessarily the perpetrator,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said after briefing Parliament’s domestic affairs committee. “We are still investigating in all directions.”

The man apparently arrived in Germany in July 2015 and lived in three German regions since February, mostly in Berlin, said Ralf Jaeger, the interior minister of western North Rhine-Westphalia state. Jaeger told reporters state police had launched proceedings against the man. “Security agencies exchanged information about this person in the joint counterterrorism center, the last time in November,” Jaeger said.

Separately, the man’s asylum application was rejected in July. German authorities prepared to deport him but weren’t able to do so because he didn’t have valid identity papers, Jaeger said. In August, they started trying to get him a replacement passport.

A European arrest warrant from Germany stated the man should be considered armed and dangerous. It also indicated he has used at least six different aliases and three nationalities.

UPDATE (10:31 a.m.): Investigators are looking for a Tunisian man whose documents were found in the truck used to attack a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday, German media reported. The man is from Tunisia and named either Ahmed or Anis A., though he reportedly uses various aliases. Spokesmen for the Tunisian Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry said they did not have information about the man, nor could they immediately confirm whether German authorities had contacted the Tunisian government.

UPDATE (12/20/2016, 3:08 p.m.): Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack at a German Christmas market that left 12 people dead and 50 others injured.

The group’s official Amaq news agency said in a statement Tuesday that “the person who carried out the truck run over attack in Berlin is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition.”

The announcement came about an hour after German police released the lone suspect in the case because they didn’t have enough evidence to tie him to the crime. The Pakistani immigrant matched witness descriptions of the man who drove a semi-truck into the crowded Berlin shopping area.

UPDATE (12/20/16, 1:30 p.m.): German prosecutors have released the only suspect arrested following a terror attack at a Berlin Christmas market.

The man, a Pakistani asylum-seeker who has been in the country for almost a year, denied involvement in the attack. Twelve people died and another 50 suffered injuries after a semi-truck plowed into the crowded market Monday evening.

Although the suspect matched witness descriptions of the truck driver, police didn’t have enough evidence to definitively connect him to the attack. Under German law, police have until the end of the calendar day following an arrest to obtain a warrant to keep a suspect in custody.

UPDATE (12/20/16, 8:40 a.m.): German police have arrested a Pakistani asylum-seeker on suspicion of driving a semi-truck into a crowded Christmas market on Monday night, but they’re not sure they have the right man. The suspect, arrested about a mile and a half from the scene, denied involvement.

Twelve people died and another 50 sustained injuries when the truck plowed into tables, chairs and market stalls at the popular holiday shopping spot outside Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.

Although investigators are still trying to figure out who was behind the wheel, Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had no doubt the incident was intentional.

“There is still a lot that we don’t know about this act with sufficient certainty,” she said. “But we must, as things stand, assume it was a terrorist attack.”

Merkel’s critics blasted her again for supporting migrants and opening Germany’s borders to large numbers of asylum-seekers. The suspect arrived in Germany last year and settled in Berlin in February.

The truck is registered to a Polish company. Police said a passenger in the truck died at the scene of the crash but would not provide any details about his injuries. The company’s owner said he feared the truck, driven by his cousin, had been hijacked. Police confirmed the passenger was a Polish national.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but U.S. officials had warned Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda were focusing “on the upcoming holiday season and associated events” in Europe. ISIS militants have previously encouraged followers to launch attacks on large crowds. On July 14, a Tunisian man drove a truck through a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, killing 86. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (12/19/16, 3:50 p.m.): At least nine people are dead after a semi-truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market outside Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin on Monday night. Many others are injured, according to police.

Officials don’t yet know whether the incident was a terror attack or an accident. Police arrested the driver near the scene but have not released any information on his identity.

Germany is known for its Christmas markets, with vendors setting up shop in many major cities.