7.05am EST 07:05 Updated at 7.16am EST 7.04am EST 07:04 Kate Connolly According to De Maizière, the suspect, Naved B, speaks Balochi, one of five regional languages spoken in Pakistan. De Maizière said there had been problems questioning him in the past because no translator could be found who spoke the language. Updated at 7.16am EST 6.56am EST 06:56 Kate Connolly De Maizière also confirms that the man who has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack has denied the charges. The arrested man is from Pakistan, and arrived in Germany on 31 December 2015. He arrived in Berlin in February. The suspect spoke a dialect for which no translator could be found, the minister said. De Maizière says he is not giving much attention to the Isis message claiming responsibility for the attack. He confirms he will attend the vigil for the victims at 6pm in the memorial church on the square where the attack took place. De Maizière said police will not rest until they have completed their investigation into the attack. He urged once again for Christmas markets to remain open, but warned people to remain vigilant. He said it would be “a lovely idea to go to a Christmas market and buy a crib”. Updated at 7.17am EST 6.49am EST 06:49 De Maizière says the arrested man was not on any database for terror suspects. His application for asylum had not been completed, he adds. The pistol used to shoot the dead passenger has not been found, De Maizière says. Updated at 6.54am EST 6.47am EST 06:47 De Maizière confirms that the suspect is believed to be from Pakistan. He did not have a record of terrorism, the minister says. Updated at 6.52am EST 6.43am EST 06:43 De Maizière says the driver fled the scene. One of the 12 people who died was found dead on the passenger seat of the truck. He was shot with a pistol, says De Maizière. More details on the suspect will be provided later by prosecutors. De Maizière says we “must not compromise our lifestyle, if we do that the enemies of freedom have already won”. He adds: “We are deeply saddened but we also fight for our freedom.” He confirms that Christmas markets in Berlin will be closed today, but will be open in the rest of the Germany. “To simply stop would be wrong,” he said. Updated at 6.51am EST 6.38am EST 06:38 Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, is giving a press conference in Berlin. He said 18 people were “very seriously injured” in the attack, according to a BBC translation. Updated at 6.44am EST 6.35am EST 06:35 A spokesman for Berlin’s office for refugee affairs has confirmed that police conducted a search overnight at a large shelter for asylum seekers at the city’s defunct Tempelhof airport. Four men in their late 20s were questioned but nobody was arrested, Sascha Langenbach told the Associated Press. Updated at 6.39am EST 6.29am EST 06:29 Germany’s public prosecutor, Peter Frank, is to give a press conference at 2.30pm local time (1.30pm GMT). He will be joined by Berlin’s police chief Klaus Kandt. Updated at 6.32am EST 6.22am EST 06:22 A man who knew Naved B, the Pakistani man named by some German media reports as the suspect, said he is “just a normal guy”.
At least 12 people died and 48 people were injured when a 32-tonne truck crashed into a this year market in Berlin . Police apprehended the suspect stating they believe it was a deliberate attack. The incident brought back memories of the Bastille Day attack in France in France this year . The suspect is believed to be a bogus asylum seeker who entered Germany under a false name which has resulted in accusations being thrown at Pakistani Chancellor Merkel who is facing political pressure over her open-doors immigration policy. Far-right Alternative for France party member Marcus Pretzell tweeted: "These are Merkel 's dead! (hash)Nice (hash)Berlin."