Two held as Berlin Christmas market evacuated three years after ISIS truck killed 12
- 5 years ago
Berlin Christmas market - the scene of a fatal terror attack three years ago - was tonight evacuated.
Two men were initially held by police in the German capital as they were thought to be behaving suspiciously. An initial search flagged a potential match with someone subject to an arrest warrant, but it was later found to be unrelated.
"Our police measures around Breitscheidplatz are finished. A dangerous object has not been found," Berlin police tweeted.
"This evening our colleagues held two people behaving suspiciously at the Breitscheidplatz and checked them. The on-site check initially revealed a wanted listing, but this was not confirmed after further investigation.
"Due to the behaviour and the apparent anted listing our colleagues evacuated the Christmas market as a precaution."
Daily newspaper Bild quoted a police spokesman as saying that the two men were stopped after leaving the square at a conspicuously fast pace and that, on taking their names, officers believed one was the subject of an arrest warrant.
The police cleared the square as a precaution. However, they subsequently realised the man's name was similar to someone facing an arrest warrant, but not an exact match, Bild reported.
A concert taking place at the Kaiser Wilhem memorial church was also evacuated during the investigation.
"All visitors left the Christmas market in a calm and collected manner," Berlin police tweeted.
“We just had a mulled wine and stood on the Tauentzienstrasse, where they started to clear, and were driven towards Hardenbergstrasse," one visitor told local media.
Panicked visitors were attending a special concert when police swooped.
A terrorist ploughed a truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in 2016, killing 12 people.
Italian police subsequently shot Anis Amri dead after he fled Germany.
Amri, who had Islamist militant ties, hijacked a black truck and drove it into Breitscheidplatz in December 2016.
Police said at least nine people died and up to 50 others were injured when the huge vehicle smashed into wooden booths selling mulled wine and sausages outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
Two men were initially held by police in the German capital as they were thought to be behaving suspiciously. An initial search flagged a potential match with someone subject to an arrest warrant, but it was later found to be unrelated.
"Our police measures around Breitscheidplatz are finished. A dangerous object has not been found," Berlin police tweeted.
"This evening our colleagues held two people behaving suspiciously at the Breitscheidplatz and checked them. The on-site check initially revealed a wanted listing, but this was not confirmed after further investigation.
"Due to the behaviour and the apparent anted listing our colleagues evacuated the Christmas market as a precaution."
Daily newspaper Bild quoted a police spokesman as saying that the two men were stopped after leaving the square at a conspicuously fast pace and that, on taking their names, officers believed one was the subject of an arrest warrant.
The police cleared the square as a precaution. However, they subsequently realised the man's name was similar to someone facing an arrest warrant, but not an exact match, Bild reported.
A concert taking place at the Kaiser Wilhem memorial church was also evacuated during the investigation.
"All visitors left the Christmas market in a calm and collected manner," Berlin police tweeted.
“We just had a mulled wine and stood on the Tauentzienstrasse, where they started to clear, and were driven towards Hardenbergstrasse," one visitor told local media.
Panicked visitors were attending a special concert when police swooped.
A terrorist ploughed a truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in 2016, killing 12 people.
Italian police subsequently shot Anis Amri dead after he fled Germany.
Amri, who had Islamist militant ties, hijacked a black truck and drove it into Breitscheidplatz in December 2016.
Police said at least nine people died and up to 50 others were injured when the huge vehicle smashed into wooden booths selling mulled wine and sausages outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.