Police search area after ammunition stash found near Berlin Christmas market
Authorities reportedly say ‘no suspicion’ of terror following discovery of 200 bullets in parking lot near bustling festive gathering
Berlin police were trying Sunday evening to determine the source of 200 rounds of ammunition found in an underground parking lot in the German capital near to a bustling Christmas market.
Officers were called after a tenant of the building in the western district of Charlottenburg, minutes from festivities at the Charlottenburg Palace, discovered a bag containing the bullets late Sunday.
[mappress mapid=”6240″]
German news agency DPA reported that police searched the surrounding area with sniffer dogs but found no further ammunition.
“So far there are no further finds,” said police spokesman Winfrid Wenzel. “It is unclear to whom the ammunition belonged to.”
But authorities reportedly said that there was “no suspicion” of terrorism, insisting it is not uncommon to find ditched ammunition in Berlin.
“Ammunition is always being found in Berlin,” a police spokesperson told the Reuters news agency. “Somebody was probably clearing their cellar out and found something from their grandfather.”
Germany is nearing the first anniversary of a terror attack in Berlin in which 12 people were killed by a Tunisian man who drove a stolen truck into a crowded Christmas market. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State group.
Security officials have said Germany could be the target of further attacks but there are no indications anything specific is planned.
