Police find no suspicious package at Berlin Christmas market after bomb scare prompts evacuation
Police in the German capital of Berlin gave all clear to a Christmas market after two suspicious looking men were arrested at the attempt to flee, sparking evacuation and a search for a "suspcious" package.
The market, taking place in Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, was evacuated on Saturday evening. The police said that visitors left “calmly and prudently,” so officers could comb through the stalls.
Two people were taken into custody for acting suspiciously, police reported. The Christmas market was then evacuated out of precaution allegedly after the name of one of the suspects was recorded incorrectly during the questioning, leading police to believe that he was wanted for explosives violations in the US, Tagesspiegel reported.
Die Überprüfung vor Ort ergab zunächst eine Fahndungsnotierung, die sich im weiteren Verlauf nicht bestätigte. Aufgrund des Verhaltens und der angenommenen Fahndungsnotierung haben unsere Kolleg. vorsorglich den Weihnachtsmarkt geräumt.
— Polizei Berlin (@polizeiberlin) December 21, 2019
While police have not released the identity of the suspects, German media reported that both of the men hail from Syria.
An event in the nearby Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was canceled as a result of the operation.
Twelve people were killed and over 50 injured at the Breitscheidplatz market in 2016, when an Islamist terrorist hijacked a truck and plowed it through the crowd. Since then, concrete barriers have been installed at Christmas markets across Europe, and armed police deployed to guard markets in Germany.
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