Pole must have fought attacker ahead of Berlin truck carnage: report
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
21.12.2016 14:35
The Polish driver of a truck which ploughed into crowds at a Christmas fair in Berlin, killing 12, must have fought with the attacker who hijacked his lorry, Germany’s Bild newspaper has reported.
Flowers and candles and a cardboard sign reading: 'Why?' are placed near the site of the attack at the Christmas market in Berlin, 21 December. Photo: EPA/BRITTA PEDERSEN
The tabloid cited what it said were the results of an autopsy. It reported the Pole was still alive when the attack took place on Monday.
"There had to be a fight” in the truck cabin, Bild quoted an investigator as saying.
The attacker probably stabbed the Pole several times with a knife when the latter tried to grab the steering wheel in an attempt to rescue people at the fair, the tabloid said.
When the truck stopped, the attacker shot the Pole and fled, the paper added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that the incident must be “assumed to be a terrorist attack”.
The initial suspect, a Pakistani man who was detained by officers after he was seen running away from the scene, was later released from custody due to lack of evidence. Police are now looking for a Tunisian national who has had links with terrorist organisations. (pk/rg)
Source: PAP