On Monday, December 19^th, Berlin, Germany suffered an attack at a local Christmas Market. I’m sure barely anyone in the U.S. has heard of this--for numerous reasons--but none a significant enough reason to justify to the families of the 12 who were killed.

Late Monday night, a truck sped into the crowds filling the market in central Berlin. They had driven close to 80 meters before crashing into kiosks and innocent bystanders at the market, which was near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Among the people who were killed in this attack was the truck's registered driver, a Polish man by the name of Łukasz Urban. Urban’s body showed signs of restraint, which leads authorities to believe that he fought against the culprit who led the attack.

Shortly after the attack, the Berlin police apprehended a man who they later released due to lack of incriminating evidence. They then released a statement saying they would reward 100,000 euros to whoever turns in the culprit. As of now, the person responsible has not been found and the German law enforcement have raided multiple refugee shelters throughout the city.

Although no one has been caught, a European arrest warrant has been issued for a Tunisian man who, unfortunately, has ties to Islamic extremists. Anis Amri, the man under suspicion, is believed to be extremely dangerous and to have used six different aliases and three different nationalities.

Among the 12 victims, 48 other people were injured; only five of the victims have been identified. The five include the Polish driver and a 60-year-old woman from Israel who was visiting Berlin with her husband for the holidays, an Italian woman who had moved permanently to Berlin for a while and, finally, two Germans who worked for the state of Brandenburg who have yet to be named. A German woman from Neuss and her son are also believed to be among the deceased.

Urban was 37 years old when he died. He suffered both gun and knife wounds, and his face shows signs of a fight, which are what led the authorities to believe that he was fighting the attacker for as long as he could. Urban’s superiors told the German media that he was a very kind person and that they believed he would have fought for what was right until the very end.

Dalia Elyakim, a 60-year-old Isreali tourist who was visiting the market with her husband when the attack happened, did not survive the attack either; her husband suffered many physical injuries on top of his loss.

The Italian expatriate Fabrizia di Lorenzo was 31 years old and worked for a transportation company in Berlin. After having no contact with her since Monday, the Italian foreign ministry pronounced her dead. Her phone and metro pass were found at the scene of the crime. Her family has been flown to Berlin to confirm the body and they have told German media that while they had no illusions pertaining to her safety, they will not be satisfied until they know for sure that the body is hers.

While everyone is feeling great for the holidays, I hope that everyone will take a little extra time in their day to remember all that has happened in the world this year. I’m sure that the families of those who have been affected by the attack will be enduring their toughest Christmas yet. I can only hope that while they may not have known the lives of their loved ones would be cut short, they are able to somehow tell the victims how much they meant to their families.