German police evacuated a popular Christmas market in the city of Potsdam on Friday before destroying a suspicious package containing nails and an unidentified powder in a controlled explosion, officials said. The Christmas market was evacuated to allow explosives experts to secure the device and destroy it in place outside the pharmacy in Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg, just outside of Berlin. Residents of the street were told to stay in the rear area of their homes while the procedure was carried out. The package contained nails and a powder, but experts were still trying to determine whether it was real or a hoax, Brandenburg Interior Minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter told reporters at the scene. Christmas markets are extremely popular in Germany and have increased security this year following the deadly truck attack at a market in downtown Berlin last year.

Source: Fox News December 01, 2017 16:49 UTC