Police in Milan have shot and killed Anis Amri, the Tunisian man believed to have carried out the deadly truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday, Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti said Friday morning. "The person who was killed, there is no doubt that he is Anis Amri," Minniti said, confirming news first reported by the Italian magazine Panorama and then Reuters. "He was the most wanted man in Europe and we immediately identified him and neutralized him. This means our security is working really well." Amri, whose fingerprints and identity papers were found in the cab of the 18-wheeler, was killed in a gunfight after a routine stop by police; one officer was wounded. Police reportedly confirmed Amri's identity through fingerprints.
Germany has not been able to independently confirm Amri's death, but Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said "there are growing signs that this is actually the person (wanted in the attack). Should this be proved true, the ministry is relieved that this person no longer poses a danger." Germany's Foreign Ministry said it is "grateful to the Italian authorities for the very close cooperation based on trust," and a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said German officials are waiting for written confirmation from Rome.
Amri arrived in Italy from Tunisia by boat in 2011, then spent three and a half years in Sicilian prisons for making threats and starting a fire at a refugee camp. Italian officials say he arrived in Milan about 1 a.m. on Friday after traveling through France and Turin. You can learn more in the Associated Press report below.
(This article has been updated throughout.)