The evening of December 19th 2016, brought in a wave of chilly winter and spine chilling deplorable news. A lorry drove through the packed market of Kurfuerstendamm at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. The streets were packed with happy people celebrating the joy of Christmas when the lorry driver steered it onto the market killing 12 people and injuring 49 others.
The attack has been described as an act of terrorism. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has supposedly, claimed ownership of the incident quoting that the attacker answered its calls to target the citizens of states that are fighting against it. Whether backed by ISIS or not, it was still a much despised deed that left Berlin and the world shocked. The Berlin government has put out the word about the main suspect Anis Amri, 24, who is now being hunted across Europe. A residence permit of Amri’s that was found in the lorry has led to this arrest warrant. The German authorities warn he could be armed and dangerous and are offering a reward of up to €100,000 (£84,000; $104,000) for information leading to his arrest.
The sequence of events start from before Amri even stepped into Germany. He came to the land after serving for four years in Italian prison for a case of arson. He was born and brought up in Tunisia before he landed there. Amri’s brother, Abdelkader Amri, told reporters that probably the Italian prison is where he might have been radicalised. He further lamented his brother’s behaviour and urged him to turn himself in. “I ask him to turn himself in to the police. If it is proved that he is involved, we dissociate ourselves from it,” said Abdelkader.
Amri also supposedly killed the lorry driver before hijacking it and crashing it through the Christmas market. The original owner of the lorry, a Polish man Łukasz Urban, was found murdered in the passenger seat. With the burden of the lives of 13 dead men, Amri is now being hunted to bring him to justice. The scene at Berlin on the other hand seems glum and even United Kingdom that is just a hop, skip and a jump away is tightening it security. The a roads around Buckingham Palace will be closed during changing of the guard in the wake of the attack. Chancellor Angela Merkel has also met her security cabinet to discuss the investigation into the attack.
