Berlin attack: Manhunt back on as Christmas market massacre suspect released by German police

Released: German prosecutors have released the suspect.
Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters
Francesca Gillett20 December 2016

The suspect arrested over the horrific Berlin terror attack has been released by German police.

Prosecutors say the man who was held over the devastating lorry rampage was has been let go because of insufficient evidence.

The manhunt is now likely to be back on for the driver of the truck which killed 12 people and injured 48 during Monday evening’s attack at a Christmas market.

The man, who is a Pakistani citizen and came to Germany last year as an asylum-seeker, denied any involvement in the rampage.

German police guard a Christmas market in the Prenzlauer Berg district in eastern Berlin, Germany, following the attack in Breitscheidplatz.
REUTERS

He was captured in a park after reportedly running away from the scene of the attack at Breitscheidplatz market.

Berlin truck 'attack': Death toll rises to 12

Before the suspect was released German prosecutors said they could not be sure if he was involved in the attack.


Federal prosecutors said on Tuesday they were able to follow the truck’s driver from the scene but then lost track of him.

The man who they arrested had matched descriptions of the truck driver but investigators have failed to prove he was in the truck’s cab at the time of the attack.

"The investigation up to now did not yield any urgent suspicion against the accused," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

German law means prosecutors have just until the end of the calendar day following an arrest to seek a formal warrant which would keep the suspect in custody.

A police chief warned on Tuesday Germany could expect "further significant attacks".

Head of federal criminal police office Holger Münch said Germany on "high alert".

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