The suspect and a guy who was with him are known to police and belong to a group of people detonating ATM which is what TATP is often used for (according to German news) so it’s very likely this stuff wasn’t intended to attack people.

It wasn’t a bomb. There was no detonator. It was explosive material that can explode when you look at it the wrong way. There is no way to defuse it.

According to German news it was TATP which is extremely unstable so they detonated it in a safe place nearby to minimize the risk for everyone.