The suspect in the Berlin lorry attack that killed 12 people and injured 48 others has denied any involvement, Germany's interior minister said.
Thomas De Maiziere said he "probably came from Pakistan" but his asylum application had not been completed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be "particularly sickening" if he were proven to be a refugee.
The suspect had been captured in a park 2km away after fleeing the popular Christmas market in west Berlin.
Mrs Merkel has vowed to punish those responsible for the Berlin attack "as harshly as the law allows".
Her open-door policy on migration, which saw 890,000 asylum seekers arrive in Germany last year, has divided the country, with critics calling it a security threat.
Three separate terrorist attacks in July carried out by refugees have heightened tensions.
What happened?
The lorry ploughed through the popular market at Breitscheidplatz, near west Berlin's main shopping street on Monday evening.
The truck, which was loaded with steel beams, veered into the market at 20:14 local time (19:14 GMT), one of its busiest times. It crashed through wooden huts and stands packed with tourists and locals.The DPA news agency said police believe the lorry drove 50-80 metres (160-260 ft) through the market area.
What do we know about the suspect?
German media have identified the suspect, citing security sources, as a 23-year-old Pakistani named Naved B who entered the country in either late 2015 or early 2016.He was reportedly known to police for minor crimes, but not terror links.
Special forces reportedly stormed a hangar at Berlin's defunct Tempelhof airport on Tuesday, where they believed the suspect had been living in a shelter before the attack.
He was seized after leaving the lorry and fleeing on foot for more than a mile (2km) towards the Tiergarten, a large public park.
A witness who followed him called the police, who quickly detained the suspect near the Victory Column monument.
Where did the lorry come from?
Police said a Polish man, believed to be the original driver, had been found dead on the passenger seat.Ariel Zurawski, the Polish owner of the lorry, confirmed that his driver was missing and had been unreachable since 16:00 (15:00 GMT) on Monday.
The truck was registered in Poland, but it is unclear whether it was travelling from Poland or returning from Italy, as some reports suggest.
How has Germany reacted?
Chancellor Merkel said she was "shocked and very saddened" by the attack but added "we don't want to live with fear of evil".
Germany's interior ministry said Christmas markets in Berlin would remain closed on Tuesday but other markets outside of the capital would operate as normal.A senior member of Germany's anti-immigration AfD party, Marcus Pretzell, blamed Mrs Merkel for the attack, linking it to her open-door migration policy.
Horst Seehofer, the leader of Mrs Merkel's sister party in Bavaria, urged the chancellor "to rethink our immigration and security policy and to change it" in the wake of the attack.
What do eyewitnesses say happened?
A British eyewitness, Mike Fox, told Associated Press that the 25-tonne lorry had missed him by only about three metres as it smashed through stands.
"It was definitely deliberate," said the tourist.
He said he had helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.
Source:BBC
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