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| Berlin Christmas Market Was Target of Terrorist Attack, Angela Merkel Says | Berlin Christmas Market Was Target of Terrorist Attack, Angela Merkel Says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said that the Berlin Christmas market where 12 people died Monday night was the target of a terrorist attack, and that the authorities were investigating whether it was perpetrated by a migrant or refugee. | BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said that the Berlin Christmas market where 12 people died Monday night was the target of a terrorist attack, and that the authorities were investigating whether it was perpetrated by a migrant or refugee. |
| “We must assume at the current time that it was a terrorist attack,” Ms. Merkel said on Tuesday. “I know that it would be particularly difficult for all of us to bear if it would be confirmed that this deed was carried out by a person who sought protection and asylum in Germany.” | “We must assume at the current time that it was a terrorist attack,” Ms. Merkel said on Tuesday. “I know that it would be particularly difficult for all of us to bear if it would be confirmed that this deed was carried out by a person who sought protection and asylum in Germany.” |
| Ms. Merkel, dressed in black, made a brief appearance before reporters, saying that she was “horrified, shaken and deeply sad.” | Ms. Merkel, dressed in black, made a brief appearance before reporters, saying that she was “horrified, shaken and deeply sad.” |
| It will be punished “as severely as our laws demand,” Ms. Merkel said, clearly conscious that her policy of admitting refugees by the hundreds of thousands is likely to come under scrutiny even from allies, and heavy criticism from the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany party. | It will be punished “as severely as our laws demand,” Ms. Merkel said, clearly conscious that her policy of admitting refugees by the hundreds of thousands is likely to come under scrutiny even from allies, and heavy criticism from the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany party. |
| In the attack, a heavy truck jumped a sidewalk around 8 p.m. and plowed into the market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a symbolic Berlin site whose spire, jagged from bomb damage, was intentionally left unrepaired after World War II. | In the attack, a heavy truck jumped a sidewalk around 8 p.m. and plowed into the market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a symbolic Berlin site whose spire, jagged from bomb damage, was intentionally left unrepaired after World War II. |
| The police said they later arrested a man near the scene who was suspected of driving the truck into the crowd. | The police said they later arrested a man near the scene who was suspected of driving the truck into the crowd. |
| The German newspaper Die Welt reported, citing police sources that it did not identify, that the suspect in custody was a 23-year-old migrant from Pakistan who was known to the police. The newspaper said he arrived in Germany in February from the Balkans. | |
| Seeking clues about the attacker and his motives, the German special police conducted a search at the refugee shelter at Tempelhof airport early Tuesday, a security official said, declining to give details. | Seeking clues about the attacker and his motives, the German special police conducted a search at the refugee shelter at Tempelhof airport early Tuesday, a security official said, declining to give details. |
| A spokeswoman for Berlin city authorities referred all queries to the federal prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe, which was put in charge of the investigation into the suspected attack. | A spokeswoman for Berlin city authorities referred all queries to the federal prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe, which was put in charge of the investigation into the suspected attack. |
| The Berlin police appealed to anyone who was at the Christmas market or in the vicinity Monday night to send them videos or photographs they may have, and to refrain from posting the material on social media. | The Berlin police appealed to anyone who was at the Christmas market or in the vicinity Monday night to send them videos or photographs they may have, and to refrain from posting the material on social media. |
| The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel said the search of the shelter at Tempelhof occurred around 4 a.m. No arrests were made, according to the radio station Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, which cited a city security official whom it did not identify. | |
| “Twelve people were among us yesterday and were happy about Christmas and the holidays,” Ms. Merkel said. “This is incomprehensible, this act that robbed them of their lives.” | “Twelve people were among us yesterday and were happy about Christmas and the holidays,” Ms. Merkel said. “This is incomprehensible, this act that robbed them of their lives.” |
| She said she was meeting with Germany’s interior and justice ministers and would visit the Christmas market later in the day. “We don’t want to do without Christmas markets, without nice outings together,” she said. “We do not wish to let fear and angst take away our freedom to live.” | She said she was meeting with Germany’s interior and justice ministers and would visit the Christmas market later in the day. “We don’t want to do without Christmas markets, without nice outings together,” she said. “We do not wish to let fear and angst take away our freedom to live.” |
| The general mood in Berlin was subdued on Tuesday. People went about their business calmly, but much more quietly than usual and were reluctant to speak to reporters — or seemingly, even to one another. | The general mood in Berlin was subdued on Tuesday. People went about their business calmly, but much more quietly than usual and were reluctant to speak to reporters — or seemingly, even to one another. |
| “People are a little bit taking time off, and a little bit afraid,” said Memo El-Schafie, 47, a vendor at a coffee and cake stand in the Stadtmitte subway station, where passengers were notably few for a weekday morning. | “People are a little bit taking time off, and a little bit afraid,” said Memo El-Schafie, 47, a vendor at a coffee and cake stand in the Stadtmitte subway station, where passengers were notably few for a weekday morning. |
| Heiko Maas, the federal justice minister, said on Tuesday that the events “not only hit Berlin right in its heart, but hit us all.” | Heiko Maas, the federal justice minister, said on Tuesday that the events “not only hit Berlin right in its heart, but hit us all.” |
| The truck that plowed into the Christmas market belonged to a Polish company, and more signs emerged on Tuesday that it had been hijacked and used in a deliberate attack on the market. The magazine Focus published a report on its website quoting the interior minister of Brandenburg State, Karl-Heinz Schröter, as saying that one of those found dead at the scene had been shot. He added that it was probably the Polish driver of the truck, whom he said was a victim, not a perpetrator. | The truck that plowed into the Christmas market belonged to a Polish company, and more signs emerged on Tuesday that it had been hijacked and used in a deliberate attack on the market. The magazine Focus published a report on its website quoting the interior minister of Brandenburg State, Karl-Heinz Schröter, as saying that one of those found dead at the scene had been shot. He added that it was probably the Polish driver of the truck, whom he said was a victim, not a perpetrator. |
| Frauke Petry of the Alternative for Germany party said in a statement early Tuesday that “Germany is no longer safe,” and told the country that it would be Ms. Merkel’s “duty to tell you that.” | |
| Noting the successive terrorist attacks in France, including a truck driven into a crowded beachfront promenade in Nice in July, Ms. Petry called the carnage at the Berlin Christmas market “not just an attack on our freedom and our way of life but also on our Christian tradition.” | |
| The side of the market where the truck slammed into the crowd remained cordoned off early Tuesday. Police officers patrolled the area, as Berlin residents bearing flowers and candles placed them at makeshift memorials on either side of the church. | The side of the market where the truck slammed into the crowd remained cordoned off early Tuesday. Police officers patrolled the area, as Berlin residents bearing flowers and candles placed them at makeshift memorials on either side of the church. |
| Oliver Horn said he had written the slogan “Même pas peur” (French for “Not even afraid”) from the aftermath of the Nice attacks, on a poster and hung it near the site on his way to work on Tuesday. | Oliver Horn said he had written the slogan “Même pas peur” (French for “Not even afraid”) from the aftermath of the Nice attacks, on a poster and hung it near the site on his way to work on Tuesday. |
| “It just came to my mind,” he said of the gesture. “I felt I had to do something.” | “It just came to my mind,” he said of the gesture. “I felt I had to do something.” |
| The sign caught the attention of Cyril Leteuil, who was visiting Berlin from Bordeaux. “It’s just like Nice,” he said. “We’ve seen this in France.” | The sign caught the attention of Cyril Leteuil, who was visiting Berlin from Bordeaux. “It’s just like Nice,” he said. “We’ve seen this in France.” |