Berlin CSD attacker killed by police after ramming car into crowd; one dead, 29 injured
The 21-year-old German-Lebanese suspect, Abdul B., was located in a garden colony in Spandau and charged at officers with a blade before SEK opened fire. He died at the scene. The attack on Saturday evening killed a woman and injured 29. Federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation as authorities say everything points to an Islamist motive.
Attack at Berlin Pride
On Saturday evening, the driver of a car rammed into a crowd near the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, killing one woman and injuring 29. He then fled the vehicle and, according to Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, likely attacked several passersby with a machete. The parade was called off as emergency services responded to the scene. Police said by Sunday afternoon the injured were no longer in life-threatening condition.
Suspect's radicalization and legal history
Abdul B. was born in Berlin in 2005, held German citizenship, and had Lebanese family roots. Authorities described a documented radicalization within the Islamist scene. In 2025 he tried multiple times to join the Islamic State abroad, was arrested in Lebanon in July and held for three months, then returned to Germany on 17 November and was immediately rearrested at BER Airport.
In May 2026 a youth court convicted him of preparing a serious act of state-endangering violence and handed down a juvenile sentence of one year and ten months. The court lifted his detention warrant, stressing that pre-trial custody must not become a premature punishment. The Generalstaatsanwaltschaft appealed the ruling, calling for a longer, non-suspended sentence and continued detention. Early this month, investigators searched his Berlin-Schöneberg apartment over an initial suspicion of weapons law violations.
Manhunt and fatal shooting
Police released a photograph of Abdul B. on Sunday morning and launched a public manhunt. At around 18:00 he was located in a garden colony in Spandau. He advanced on the special operations unit with a stabbing weapon, prompting the SEK to open fire.
Despite immediate resuscitation measures by the Berlin fire brigade, he died at the scene.
- Suspect arrested in Lebanon while attempting to join the Islamic State; held for three months
- Returns to Germany, rearrested at Berlin BER Airport
- Convicted of preparing a serious act of violence; given 1 year 10 months juvenile sentence; court lifts detention warrant
- Car rams crowd near Berlin CSD, killing one woman, injuring 29; suspect flees
- Police release photo of Abdul B. and launch public manhunt
- Suspect located in Spandau garden colony; charges officers with stabbing weapon, SEK opens fire; dies at scene
Investigation and reaction
The Bundesanwaltschaft, Germany's top prosecuting authority, took charge of the case. Dobrindt said everything pointed to an Islamist terrorist attack. Berlin mayor Kai Wegner expressed relief that the suspect was stopped within 24 hours.
That the Berlin police have the suspect within 24 hours is a great success for the investigative authorities. And I am very grateful for that.
Persistent Islamist threat
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution attributed 28,645 individuals to the Islamist spectrum in 2025, with an estimated 9,110 of them considered violence-oriented. The agency says the danger from Islamist terrorism in Germany remains persistently high, pointing to the 2025 attacks in Berlin, Bielefeld, Essen and Munich as symbolic of the jihadist threat.
