Breaking: Suspect from the Berlin attack at a Christmas market identified as 24-year-old Anis Amri, according to German federal prosecutors pic.twitter.com/wx7NhxUB16
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 21, 2016
On Wednesday, German officials announced a manhunt for Anis Amri, who authorities consider a suspect in the Berlin Christmas Market attack that killed 12 people. Details have been scarce regarding the identity of the driver, but ISIS claimed responsibility and called him “a soldier of the Islamic State.”
Berlin police were able to hone in on Amri’s identity after finding his asylum papers in the truck used during the attack. CNN reports that Amri had been evaluated as a risk by Berlin authorities after it was discovered he was in contact with radical Islamist groups.
ISIS has not revealed whether they helped Amri plan the attack or if he was an official member of the group. CNN reports that German authorities arrested Amri in August for forging documents to enter Italy from Friedrichshafen. He was later released by a judge. Amri also reportedly attracted police attention “because he was looking for a gun.”
Details are also starting to emerge about the first victim of the attack, Lukasz Urban, who was found dead in the passenger side seat of the truck. The timeline of the attack is slowly being pieced together, as CBS News reported Urban called his wife around 3 p.m. on the day of the attack, but he was unresponsive after 4 p.m. It is believed that the truck began its journey to the Christmas market around 7:40 p.m.
Amri’s identity is the first real lead German officials have had on the attack. Berlin police originally had a presumed suspect in custody but released him because of lack of evidence. But Amri is still on the run and presumed to be highly dangerous and armed.