The suspect in the Berlin truck rampage was killed in a 3 a.m. shootout after a chance encounter with police in the Italian city of Milan, officials announced Friday.
Italy’s Interior Interior Minister Marco Minniti described how cops noticed a “man who walked suspiciously.”
“When he was stopped, the man shot the policemen with a gun, the police shot back,” Minniti told reporters at a press conference in Rome. One policeman was wounded in the firefight.
The suspect, who police identified as Tunisian national Anis Amri, was “killed on the spot,” said Minniti. The man killed was “without a shadow of doubt” the Berlin Christmas market attacker, he added.
Amri, 24, been at the center of an international manhunt after authorities found his personal documents inside the vehicle that plowed through the Christmas market on Monday. Twelve people were killed and almost 50 others injured in the attack that has since been claimed by ISIS.
Minniti praised the young policeman who was wounded in the incident.
“I thanked him for his bravery and professionalism shown,” he said. “I thanked him on behalf of the head of police, of the Interior Ministry, and wished him a swift recovery.”
Minniti added:
“I told him that thanks to him, Italians will be able to have a happier holiday. All of Italy should be proud of him.”
