Berlin Christmas Market Attacker, Shot Dead By Italian Police in Milan
Image of the truck used to carry out the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people. Credit: BBC
After opening fire on Italian police, Anis Amri was shot dead. Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian, is the suspect identified as being responsible for the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people. He encountered two Italian police officers in Milan during a 'routine stop.'
While being stopped during the check, Amri shot 36-year-old Officer Christian Movio. The injuries sustained by Movio are non life-threatening. Springing into action, 29-year-old rookie officer Luca Scata immediately fired two shots, killing Amri.
Following the Berlin attack, ISIL slightly changed practices with regard to how soon they claim responsibility for attacks. The terrorist organization typically broadcasts responsibility within 12 hours of successful attacks. However with Amri still at-large, ISIL waited over a day to declare responsibility. To add credibility to their declaration, ISIL released a video of Amri pledging allegiance to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
According to Italian Interior Minister Marco Minnitti, "The man killed was without a shadow of a doubt Anis Amri." But the question looming largest, how did an international fugitive travel in excess of 600 miles, or cross state lines in the process? Early reports show that Italian police discovered a ticket on Amri, indicating Amri boarded a high speed train from France to Turin, a northern Italian city. Amri then apparently took a regional train from Turin to the Milan region before encountering Officers Movio and Scata.
Authorities are now tasked with determining whether Amri had any accomplices. The length of Amri's travel to Italy was not lost on German authorities as German Chancellor Angela Merkel affirms the country's surveillance policy is going to be analyzed.
