Berlin, Germany (CNN) — [Breaking news update, posted at 1:24 p.m. ET Tuesday]
The man detained after a truck crashed into a Berlin Christmas market has been set free, Germany’s general prosecutor said in a statement Tuesday. “The investigations thus far have not produced sufficient evidence against the suspect,” the statement said.
[Previous story, posted at 12:54 p.m. ET Tuesday]
Police say the man they detained after a truck plowed into a Berlin Christmas market may not have been the driver, leading to fears that the attacker could still be on the loose.
“They’re really back to square one in terms of this investigation. … It may well be a scenario of a manhunt, a race against time to arrest this individual before they can strike again,” CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said.
German authorities had earlier described an asylum-seeker as a suspect in the Monday evening attack, which they’re investigating as an act of terror. But now, a key question in the investigation apparently remains unanswered: Who was behind the attack that left 12 people dead and 48 others injured?
So far, no group has claimed responsibility.
Latest developments
- Officials say several people could have been involved in the attack.
- A weapon used in the attack has not yet been found.
- The truck is owned by a Polish company.
- A Polish man was found dead in truck’s passenger seat.
- Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site where 12 people died.
While investigators searched for clues, the usually bustling Christmas market was eerily quiet Tuesday, with stalls shuttered and nearby roads blocked off.
The sounds of a choir singing rang out as a terrorism expert spoke to CNN near the market.
“You have peace concerts, you have people laying down wreaths, you have people writing cards and people speaking silent prayers. This is completely unprecedented,” said Peter Neumann, director of
the International Center for the Study of Radicalization. “I don’t think a lot of people are aware there’s an attacker on the loose, potentially.”
Berlin Police President Klaus Kandt said Tuesday that officials could not be certain that the man in custody — who was picked up about a mile away from the market — was responsible for the attack.
German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere said the man, who he said was “probably from Pakistan,” had denied any involvement in the attack.
The man had entered Germany on December 31, 2015, De Maiziere said, and his application for asylum had stalled.
Berlin police have called on the public to remain alert, as confusion swirled over who might have been behind the wheel when the truck barreled over a curb into the crowded market.
“We possibly need to assume that we have not arrested the right one,” General Prosecutor at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice Peter Frank told journalists Tuesday.
“We do not know if there was one perpetrator or several perpetrators yet. We do not know if there was support given to the perpetrator.”
Asked at the same news conference whether the driver might still be at large, President of the Federal Criminal Office Holger Münch said only that authorities had one man in custody and that they
were “looking in all directions” for any other suspects.
He also said a weapon believed to have been used in the attack had not yet been found.
A German intelligence official told CNN that security services were concerned that the attacker was still at large and dangerous.
Berlin police said the man found dead inside the truck was a Polish citizen and was not driving during the incident. The man appeared to have been shot dead, De Maiziere said.
The truck, which was owned by a Polish company, “was steered deliberately into the crowd,” police said. It was carrying 25 tons of steel at the time, according to Ariel Zurawski, the owner of the truck company.
Zurawski told CNN affiliate TVN 24 the vehicle may have been hijacked. He said his cousin — the truck’s regular driver — couldn’t have been behind the wheel.
Zurawski added that his cousin was happy to be finishing his route from Italy to Berlin and was looking forward to returning to Poland after one last leg to Denmark.
“He was asking if he should be back home by Thursday night because he still needed to buy a Christmas gift for his wife,” he said.
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