Berlin Market Attack: The Main Suspect Is Still At Large

The day after a truck plowed into a bustling Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people, authorities are still scrambling for a motive, and the only person arrested after the attack was released because of insufficient evidence.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described herself as “shocked, shaken and deeply saddened” after what she said the government must assume was a “terrorist attack.”  

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack. Terrorist monitoring groups report ISIS’ news agency made the claim.

Merkel, who has been criticized for allowing in large numbers of migrants, addressed head-on the possibility that an asylum-seeker was responsible.

“I know that it would be particularly hard for us all to bear if it were confirmed that a person committed this act who asked for protection and asylum in Germany,” Merkel said. 

Authorities arrested a man about 1.5 miles from the crash site on suspicion of having been at the wheel of the truck. Footage showed the suspect, his head covered in a white sheet, being pushed into a police car shortly after the attack. Berlin’s Tagesspiegel newspaper reported that the man was known to police for minor crimes.  

However, the suspect denies involvement in the attack, Berlin police said.

You can keep up with the latest information on this investigation here.