Washington, Dec 19 (EFE).- The White House on Monday condemned the brutal attack at a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people and wounded about 50, labeling it an “apparent terrorist attack”.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms what appears to have been a terrorist attack on a Christmas Market in Berlin, Germany, which has killed and wounded dozens,” said Ned Price, National Security spokesman.
The White House went further than the German authorities who currently have not confirmed the crash as an attack, although Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maiziere, has acknowledged that there are signs that point in that direction.
The US also offered their assistance to the German authorities in the investigation of the attack.
“Germany is one of our closest partners and strongest allies, and we stand together with Berlin in the fight against all those who target our way of life and threaten our societies,” Price added.
The attack took place around 8.15pm local time (7.15pm GMT), when a truck plowed through a crowded pedestrian area on the Breitscheidplatz, which marks the center of City West, ramming into several people visiting the traditional market.
Several local media reported that the driver, who was arrested shortly after nearby, is a Pakistani or Afghan national who arrived as a refugee in Germany in February and that the truck was stolen from a construction site in Poland, Germany’s neighboring country.