Police survey the carnage left in the wake of the Berlin bus attack.
Italian police killed the man suspected of carrying out this week’s Berlin terrorist attack near a Milan area train station early Friday, Interior Minister Marco Minniti said at a press conference.
“Without any doubt, the person killed is Anis Amri, the man suspected in the Berlin terrorist attack,” Minniti told reporters in Rome.
Italian police said Amri fired on two officers near the Sesto San Giovanni train station at 3 am after being stopped for an identification check and was killed after police returned gunfire. A policeman was injured and was hospitalised, though his condition isn’t life-threatening.
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Amri reportedly was armed with the same gun as the one used in the Berlin attack, according to SkyTG24. He arrived in Milan from France via Turin, according to a train ticket police found on his body, the news channel said. He likely took the subway to get to Sesto San Giovanni, a working class suburb northeast of Milan, the broadcaster said.
The shooting took place in the square in front of the train and subway station near a bus parking area. The location of the shootout is cordoned off by police and blood spots were still visible on the ground at midday.
“This area, which used to be home to some of Milan’s biggest industrial plants, is now facing decay and influx of many illegal immigrants, so we are worried,” said Giovanni Di Gioia, 51, who is unemployed.
The Tunisian terrorist was killed by a junior policeman in training after his colleague was shot by Amri, who used a gun he had in his backpack, police said. The man was asked to show identification papers as part of a routine check during the night, police said.
This week Italian authorities have increased security measures in Rome, the nation’s capital, and Milan, its business center, after the Berlin attack. City officials installed concrete blockades surrounding Milan’s landmark cathedral, and soldiers patrol the nearby Christmas market.
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, speaking at a Rome press conference, said he called German Chancellor Angela Merkel to inform her about today’s incident.
German authorities, after temporarily detaining another suspect, said they believed Amri drove the truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday evening, killing 11 people and injuring 48 others. A 12th victim, a Polish man identified as the truck’s legitimate driver, was discovered as a passenger in the destroyed cab with knife and gunshot wounds, German media reported.
Investigators discovered an identity document in the truck that led them to the suspect, who authorities said had previously spent time in Berlin. German Interior Thomas de Maiziere said Thursday that Amri’s fingerprints were found on the truck.
He was described as armed and dangerous, and a reward of €100 000, or about $104 000, was offered for information leading to his capture.