2016 Berlin attack

On 19 December 2016 at 20:02 Central European Time, a truck rammed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany. This killed 12 people and injured 49 others. The original driver of the truck was found shot dead in the passenger seat.

The incident was a terrorist attack. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has claimed responsibility. The perpatrator was Anis Amri, a Tunisian asylum seeker. On 23 December 2016, Amri was shot dead by an Italian police officer in Sesto San Giovanni. German police later confirmed that Amri's fingerprints were the same as those in the truck.

Attack
The truck that was involved, a Scania semi-trailer truck, was owned by a Polish company named Usługi Transportowe Ariel Żurawski. The truck was transporting steel beams to Berlin.

The original truck driver, Lukasz Urban, was believed to have been killed by the perpetrator. He was stabbed and shot in the head. On 19 December 2016, at 20:02 local time, the truck drove through a Christmas market. This killed 12 people. The truck drove 50–80 metres (160–260 ft) and destroyed many booths. Some witnesses saw the driver leave the truck and run towards Tiergarten.

Reactions
Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babiš said "Unfortunately... [Angela Merkel's open-door migration] policy is responsible for this dreadful act. It was she who let migrants enter Germany and the whole of Europe in uncontrolled waves, without papers, therefore without knowing who they really are." Marcus Pretzell, husband of AfD leader Frauke Petry, tweeted: "When will the German state of law strike back? When will this cursed hypocrisy finally stop? These are Merkel's dead! #Nice #Berlin."

Muslims and Chrisitians held a vigil together after the attack.

Related pages

 * 2016 Nice attack, a similar attack that occurred in France in July 2016