Berlin: Police detain suspect after several killed in deadly Christmas market truck crash

[webfact]

Berlin: Police detain suspect after several killed in deadly Christmas market truck crash

 

 

BERLIN: -- German police have detained the suspected driver of a truck that ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine people and injuring up to 50.

 

A police spokesperson confirmed the arrest and said the truck’s co-driver died during the crash.

 

According to Polish media reports, the truck had a Polish numberplate and was registered to a company in Poland. The company’s owner, Ariel Żurawski, was quoted on television as saying he had the utmost confidence in the driver, who he says is his cousin. The driver’s wife reportedly lost contact with him during the afternoon ahead of the crash.

 

“The person who jumped out of the truck, it’s not my driver,” Żurawski told Polish news channel TVN24.

 

“The driver told me only that he was stationed in front of the company. Our conversation ended on this.”

 

TVN24 reports the truck was on its way from Italy and was supposed to be unloaded in Berlin on Tuesday morning at 8-o-clock. It claims this means the vehicle was fully loaded, with some 20 tonnes of steel.

 

It is not clear why the vehicle veered off the road into the market.

 

However, Wolfgang Bosbach, an MP with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, told the press:

“Although there is a host of unanswered questions, indications are it was a deliberate attack, carried out not just with the greatest brutality and disastrous consequences, but also with deliberate symbolism.

 

“Just a few days before Christmas, in the middle of the German capital and amidst happy, peaceful people. The message is clear: no matter where, no matter how, we can pounce at any time.”

 

Police are urging local residents to remain at home.

 

The Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller, said:

“What we’re seeing here is dramatic and a shock to us all. We hope that our fears that this is an attack won’t prove true. Our thoughts are with the families of the injured and dead.”

 

A government spokesperson confirmed Merkel is being briefed on the situation by Müller and the Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere.

 

German police have tweeted that there are currently no indications of an imminent threat near the Berlin square.

 

The incident occurred in the west of the city, on Breitscheidplatz, which is one of Berlin’s busiest shopping areas.

 

Eyewitnesses report hearing a loud noise, before chaos ensued.

 

 

It evokes memories of the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, in July this year, when a Tunisian-born man drove a truck into crowds who had been watching a firework display on the beach front. Eighty-six people were killed in that incident, which was claimed by the ISIL militant group.

 

The market in Berlin has since been cleared of people. A police spokesperson initially expressed fears the crash could have caused a gas leak.

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-12-20

 

[webfact]

Truck rams German Christmas market, killing at least 9

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

 

BERLIN (AP) — A truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and injuring around 50 as it tore through tables and wooden stands. Police said a suspect believed to be the driver was arrested nearby and a passenger died as paramedics were treating him.

 

The popular Christmas market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was filled with a mix of tourists and locals when the large Scania truck hurtled into it. German officials said they were investigating what caused the crash, but the White House condemned "what appears to have been a terrorist attack."

 

Mike Fox, a tourist from Birmingham, England, told The Associated Press at the scene that the truck missed him by about three meters (yards).

 

"It was definitely deliberate," Fox said. He said he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.

 

The truck came to a halt on a sidewalk on one side of the market, shortly after ramming a large stand called "Fascination Christmas," ripping off one side and knocking down a large Christmas tree. The three-meter tree lay in the street, red and gold ornamental balls still attached to its limbs and a golden star at the top.

 

In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the United States has already been in contact with German officials and stands ready to assist in the investigation and response.

 

The crash came less than a month after the U.S. State Department called for caution in markets and other public places across Europe, saying extremist groups including Islamic State and al-Qaida were focusing "on the upcoming holiday season and associated events."

 

The Islamic State group and al-Qaida have both called on followers to use trucks in particular to attack crowds. On July 14, a truck plowed into Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice, killing 86 people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, which was carried out by a Tunisian living in France.

 

Near the market, dozens of ambulances lined the streets waiting to evacuate people, and heavily armed police patrolled the area. Police on Twitter urged people to stay away from the area, saying they need to keep the streets clear for rescue vehicles.

 

Among the dead was a passenger in the truck, who succumbed as paramedics treated him, Berlin police spokesman Winfried Wenzel said. He offered no further details.

 

A suspect believed to be the driver was picked up about 2 kilometers (1½ miles) away, near Berlin's Victory Column monument. He was being interrogated, Wenzel said. Wenzel said the truck was registered in Poland, but that police were still investigating the identity of the driver. He did not give the men's nationalities.

 

The Polish owner of the truck said he feared the vehicle, driven by his cousin, may have been hijacked. Ariel Zurawki said he last spoke with the driver around noon, and the driver told him he was in Berlin and scheduled to unload Tuesday morning.

 

"They must have done something to my driver," he told TVN24.

 

Federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, took over the investigation, according to German Justice Minister Heiko Maas. But Berlin's top security official, state interior minister Andreas Geisel, told RBB television that it was too early to say whether it was an attack, and called reports that the truck may have been hijacked "pure speculation."

 

Even so, some politicians were pointing fingers. Marcus Pretzell, a prominent member of the anti-migration Alternative for Germany party, lashed out at the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying on Twitter: "When will the German state of law strike back? When will this cursed hypocrisy finally stop? These are Merkel's dead! #Nice #Berlin."

 

Germany has not experienced any mass-casualty attacks by Islamic extremists, but has been increasingly wary since two attacks by asylum-seekers in the summer that were claimed by the Islamic State group. Five people were wounded in an ax rampage on a train near Wuerzburg and 15 in a bombing outside a bar in Ansbach. Both attackers were killed.

 

Those attacks, and two others unrelated to Islamic extremism in the same weeklong period, helped stoke tensions in Germany over the arrival last year of 890,000 migrants.

___

Contributors to this report included David Rising, Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin, and Lori Hinnant in Paris.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-12-20

[canuckamuck]

Germany's Trojan herd

[Laughing Gravy]

It is very sad that this happened but no surprise. My sympathy goes to the innocent victims and families. This clearly shows that multiculturalism doesn't work, isn't working and that the migration policy is not working. I am sure the liberal lefties will no doubt continue the support of migration from these porn worn torn countries but I suspect there will be more of these to come. Well done Merkel. I am sure the German people will reward you in next years elections with a resounding defeat.

 

Do you ever here of Christian attacks in Saudi Arabia and similar countries? No. That is because they don't allow Christianity to be preached and there are no liberal and equal laws. It does make it rather hypocritical that the refigures come from tyranny and terror for a better life then attack that exact principle that gives them it. Liberals and lefties are just as responsible. Like communism, multiculturalism is good on paper but doesn't practically, especially when you have religions who demand total servitude and work on total control.

 

I am sure you will get those saying that it isn't all who do this and yes you maybe wright. I would say that I wonder how many condemn those truly or actually believe in the cause. It is a sad day for Germany, democracy and the world when it shows you can't treat all people like you want to be treated yourself.

[jaidam]

News reorts coming out that the truck was driven by a Pakistani "refugee", which makes this look less and less likely than the possible "traffic accident" the BBC talking heads were claiming a couple of hours ago.

 

 There has been a flurry of activity across Europe in the last day or so. Mass shooting at a Zurich train station, the "12 year old" with his nail bombs in Berlin, suspicious packages in Londons Liverpool street, the assassination of the ambassador in Turkey, and how many others that have been successfully covered up by msm. Expect more violence in the v near future. Christmas is a provocative time to many.

 

condolenses to the deceased.

[manarak]

this is certainly a major blow to the German ruling party.

 

lorries like that usually have two or three drivers - I wonder where the other driver was, or if the second driver is responsible for the attack.

 

also, if there are apparent causes for the death of the man found inside the truck.

[manarak]

"Die Welt" (renowned German newspaper) reports that the driver is a Pakistani who came to Germany on 16th February 2016 as a refugee.

[DM07]

It is very sad that this happened but no surprise. My sympathy goes to the innocent victims and families. This clearly shows that multiculturalism doesn't work, isn't working and that the migration policy is not working. I am sure the liberal lefties will no doubt continue the support of migration from these porn worn torn countries but I suspect there will be more of these to come. Well done Merkel. I am sure the German people will reward you in next years elections with a resounding defeat.
 
Do you ever here of Christian attacks in Saudi Arabia and similar countries? No. That is because they don't allow Christianity to be preached and there are no liberal and equal laws. It does make it rather hypocritical that the refigures come from tyranny and terror for a better life then attack that exact principle that gives them it. Liberals and lefties are just as responsible. Like communism, multiculturalism is good on paper but doesn't practically, especially when you have religions who demand total servitude and work on total control.
 
I am sure you will get those saying that it isn't all who do this and yes you maybe wright. I would say that I wonder how many condemn those truly or actually believe in the cause. It is a sad day for Germany, democracy and the world when it shows you can't treat all people like you want to be treated yourself.

What a bunch of absolute BS! The only thing this shows, is that there is always a loose cannon around! If it isn't political or religious terror ( both possible) , it is a guy with mental problems or a dude, who had a really shitty day!
There is no such thing as "absolute security" and just because one guy does something evil, that does not mean, that everybody of a certain group of people is evil, too!
Please do us all a favor and crawl back under your rock!


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[katana]

Daily Mail quotes German newspaper Die Welt:
"...The driver, who according to German newspaper Die Welt, was a refugee of Afghan or Pakistani heritage who had arrived in Germany in February - fled the scene before being arrested at a nearby zoo..."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4049442/Terror-attack-fears-lorry-ploughs-Christmas-market-Berlin-leaving-two-people-dead.html

[Caps]

....and thats the thanks you get for trying to give someone a better life...vermin

[daveAustin]

21 minutes ago, DM07 said:

What a bunch of absolute BS! The only thing this shows, is that there is always a loose cannon around! If it isn't political or religious terror ( both possible) , it is a guy with mental problems or a dude, who had a really shitty day!

 

Was that your three guesses?...

 

Agree to not taint all, but we don't need to be naive at the same time. There were crazies around 70 years ago too but this kind of thing didn't happen then. Certain groups don't work together and there's one that just doesn't work with any.

[Rimbuman]

41 minutes ago, DM07 said:

What a bunch of absolute BS! The only thing this shows, is that there is always a loose cannon around! If it isn't political or religious terror ( both possible) , it is a guy with mental problems or a dude, who had a really shitty day!
There is no such thing as "absolute security" and just because one guy does something evil, that does not mean, that everybody of a certain group of people is evil, too!
Please do us all a favor and crawl back under your rock!


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

And jet another reply of someone who is not personally affected. 

[phantomfiddler]

Obviously yet another act performed by a muslim just doing what their book tells them to do. I do believe DM07 is being incredibly naive (am I allowed to say this ? if not just delete this sentence) and whenever an incident like this occurs the motives are 99% the same, when will the world wake up ? 

[ezzra]

Merry Christmas Ms. Markel.... I hope you can sleep well now that the people

you went out of your way to help, are killing your own people....

[halloween]

1 hour ago, DM07 said:

What a bunch of absolute BS! The only thing this shows, is that there is always a loose cannon around! If it isn't political or religious terror ( both possible) , it is a guy with mental problems or a dude, who had a really shitty day!
There is no such thing as "absolute security" and just because one guy does something evil, that does not mean, that everybody of a certain group of people is evil, too!
Please do us all a favor and crawl back under your rock!


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

In oz we have a lot of snakes, and some of them are very venomous. When I look at a snake, I can't usually be sure whether it is harmless or deadly, so I treat it with caution, and stay well away from it. I do not encourage it to take up residence in my home. Does that make me a rabid right-wing speciesist?

 

Warning - post may contain allegory.

Edited December 20, 2016 by halloween

[webfact]

UPDATE

Truck rams into German Christmas market, killing 12 people /AP

[DM07]

At this point, we don't even know, WHO actually did this, what is his background, what are the motives!  For all I care, he could have shouted "Now do you love me, daddy?!" as he crashed into the first row of people!

But sure, for most of the posters on this thread so far...must have been a Muslim!  Who else!  And even if he was?  That tells you that "multikulti" doesn't work?

Again: what a lot of BS!

[DM07]

50 minutes ago, Rimbuman said:

 

And jet another reply of someone who is not personally affected. 

What kind of inane answer is that?

So are the answers of everybody else here, I would wildly guess!

 

[kevkev1888]

3 minutes ago, DM07 said:

At this point, we don't even know, WHO actually did this, what is his background, what are the motives!

For all I care, he could have shouted "Now do you love me, daddy?!" as he crashed into the first row of people!

But sure, for most of the posters on this thread so far...must have been a Muslim!

Who else!

And even if he was?

That tells you that "multikulti" doesn't work?

Again: what a lot of BS!

 

Are you for real? WAKE UP!!!!!!!

[DM07]

5 minutes ago, kevkev1888 said:

 

Are you for real? WAKE UP!!!!!!!

Yes I am!

Stop shouting!

[Dustdevil]

2 hours ago, Laughing Gravy said:

It is very sad that this happened but no surprise. My sympathy goes to the innocent victims and families. This clearly shows that multiculturalism doesn't work, isn't working and that the migration policy is not working. I am sure the liberal lefties will no doubt continue the support of migration from these porn worn torn countries but I suspect there will be more of these to come. Well done Merkel. I am sure the German people will reward you in next years elections with a resounding defeat.

 

Do you ever here of Christian attacks in Saudi Arabia and similar countries? No. That is because they don't allow Christianity to be preached and there are no liberal and equal laws. It does make it rather hypocritical that the refigures come from tyranny and terror for a better life then attack that exact principle that gives them it. Liberals and lefties are just as responsible. Like communism, multiculturalism is good on paper but doesn't practically, especially when you have religions who demand total servitude and work on total control.

 

I am sure you will get those saying that it isn't all who do this and yes you maybe wright. I would say that I wonder how many condemn those truly or actually believe in the cause. It is a sad day for Germany, democracy and the world when it shows you can't treat all people like you want to be treated yourself.

I think you miss the point about the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia it's not about Christians having freedom or not. For decades, and long before the first Gulf War with Saddam, The Saudis and Iranians have been fighting Sunni vs. Shia proxy wars such as in Beirut and other places way back in the 1970s; then the seven-year-long war in the 1980s betw. Iraq and Iran, and now in Syria. These two sects loathe each other. I also don't agree that muticulturalism doesn't work. I think what you mean is IDENTITY POLITICS DOESN'T WORK.  Though the density of Muslims in the United States is much thinner than in Europe, it's clear that the Muslim US community is much better integrated into mainstream society than they are in Europe. Knowing that, Angela Merkel the Halfwit decides to let one million unvetted Muslim refugees into her country. Immediately thereafter came the Cologne rapes and assaults, and now this.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Dustdevil

[RickBradford]

Die Welt and Tagesspiegel newspapers have both reported that the perp is one of Merkel's Migrants, either from Pakistan or Afghanistan.

 

Time for the progressive media to go into action:

 

1. He was mentally ill

2. This had nothing to do with Islam

3. We must be more inclusive and welcoming

[sweatalot]

Congratulations Merkel. Wish you would have been in the crowd

[sweatalot]

9 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

Die Welt and Tagesspiegel newspapers have both reported that the perp is one of Merkel's Migrants, either from Pakistan or Afghanistan.

 

Time for the progressive media to go into action:

 

1. He was mentally ill

2. This had nothing to do with Islam

3. We must be more inclusive and welcoming

 

when the officials say it has nothing to do with Islam - it has for sure

when the officials say it might have to with Islam it means the evidence is so overwhelming that they just don't know how to deny it

when the officials say it has to do with Islam    ..... will never happen

 

I hope nobody will believe BS of this kind anymore  .... yeah it never has to do with Islam

[Rimmer]

A troll post has been removed

 

Edit:   Make that 2 posts.  

[webfact]

Berlin: police say truck which rammed a market looks like ‘terror attack’

 

 

BERLIN: -- Hours after a lorry ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, German police are still piecing together evidence.

 

At least 12 people were killed and around fifty more were injured in what many are calling a terror attack.

One man thought to have been the driver has been arrested while a passenger died as it crashed into shoppers.

It is suspected that the truck was stolen from a construction site in Poland.

 

Berlin police released on social media that the vehicle which is Polish owned was loaded with steel and may have been stolen from a construction site.

 

According to the company, contact was lost with the driver on Monday afternoon but on following its GPS someone had repeatedly tried starting the engine raising speculation that a novice was attempting to drive it.

 

Police sources now say the body in the drivers cab was of a Polish national.

 

Within minutes of the truck crashing, emergency vehicles filled the area. The market at the foot of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church is one of the busiest in central Berlin at this time of year.

 

Police say its unclear why the vehicle veered off into the market but locals say the action is suspicious as there are no evening deliveries.

 

Although officially police are keeping an open mind over the crash those at the scene have told German media that it appears to have been a deliberate act.

 

Berlin’s State Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said the background of the crash is still unknown and it could either be an accident or an attack.

 

However, Wolfgang Bosbach, an MP with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, told the press:

“Although there is a host of unanswered questions, indications are it was a deliberate attack, carried out not just with the greatest brutality and disastrous consequences, but also with deliberate symbolism.

 

“Just a few days before Christmas, in the middle of the German capital and amidst happy, peaceful people. The message is clear: no matter where, no matter how, we can pounce at any time.”

 

Where?

 

The incident occurred in the west of the city, on Breitscheidplatz, which is one of Berlin’s busiest shopping areas.

 

Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud noise, before chaos ensued.

 

France to increase security

 

It has evoked memories of the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, in July this year, when a Tunisian-born man drove a truck into crowds who had been watching a firework display on the beach front. Eighty-six people were killed in that incident, which was claimed by the ISIL militant group.

 

Under a state of emergency since the Paris attacks in November, 2015, France is now to increase security at Christmas markets across the country.

 

The Interior Ministry issued a statement saying:

“Franco-German cooperation will continue with no respite so that democracies win the war against those who want to strike at our values and freedoms.

 

“All security forces will keep to a maximum level of vigilance. Security at Christmas markets will be reinforced with immediate effect.”

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-12-20

[bark]

2 hours ago, daveAustin said:

 

Was that your three guesses?...

 

Agree to not taint all, but we don't need to be naive at the same time. There were crazies around 70 years ago too but this kind of thing didn't happen then. Certain groups don't work together and there's one that just doesn't work with any.

Not all Muslims are bad. But all Terrorists are bad. Germany made the mistake of letting over one million Refugees into the country without proper clearance. Many only a few a terrorists; but tell that to the 12 peoples families and friends, who were murdered.

[Usernames]

Sorry, Germans.  No more public Christmas celebrations for you. Merkel's moslems have vetoed that idea permanently. 

[Stupooey]

54 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

Congratulations Merkel. Wish you would have been in the crowd

 

...and she probably wishes you'd have been there.

[Usernames]

Just now, Stupooey said:

 

...and she probably wishes you'd have been there.

 

Potentially, she has put all her citizens there.