Berlin Pride attack leaves one dead, 29 injured; suspect shot by police

The attack

On Saturday evening, around 22:00, a white van drove into the crowd at the Tiergarten park festival, the closing event of Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade. The driver then got out and attacked people with what witnesses described as a machete. One woman died and at least 29 people were injured, some seriously. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Abdul B., fled the scene. The CSD parade, which drew around 700,000 participants this year, had been a peaceful celebration of freedom and tolerance until that moment.

Manhunt and suspect shot

Throughout Sunday, special police units with dogs searched the Tiergarten area and temporarily locked down the S-Bahn station Anhalter Bahnhof, but the suspect remained at large. Authorities warned the public and did not rule out further violence. A planned remembrance at the homo monument was canceled for safety reasons. On Sunday evening, police shot Abdul B. at a garden complex in the Spandau district, ending the manhunt.

Community defiance

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds gathered at Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate for an emotional remembrance. Drag queen Petra Grober-Unfug, wearing a glitter dress, told the crowd:

As a drag queen, I will wear my crown even higher. I will not be pushed out of public space.

José Miguel Villamor, 37, from Frankfurt, described the festival before the attack as a celebration where everyone mixed, young and old, straight and queer. Julian Miethig, 28, who had experienced the 2024 Magdeburg Christmas market attack, said he already felt uneasy coming to the event. DJ Michael Destiny, who was part of the Pride security team, said he has been afraid at public events for three or four years, and even more so in the last two.

Conrad, 41, who was at the festival, told NRC that parties continued into the night after news of the attack broke. He said:

They want us to stop partying? Then we have to carry on. We must not give in to the fear they sow.

In Schöneberg, the city's gay district, terraces were full on Sunday, and business owners hung rainbow flags. Parth, a Pride attendee, said the best protest against violence is to simply be gay and continue living their lives. Branden Temple, 28, a British attendee, said he never expected such an attack in 2026 and felt guilty for not being there. Sabine, 58, from Hamburg, called it a catastrophe that they still cannot live as they want.

A targeted attack on freedom

The attack is being treated as Islamist terrorism by German authorities. The Bundeskriminalamt had previously warned of a high risk of attacks, particularly from jihadist circles. Germany has seen several attacks in recent years, including in Solingen (2024), Magdeburg (2024), and Munich (2025). The queer community also faces threats from the far right: in 2025, the BKA registered 56 offenses against the community by religious fundamentalists and 870 by far-right extremists. The rise of the AfD party has added to the pressure.

Berlin's gay scene, which flourished in the 1920s before being crushed by the Nazis and later revived after the war and the fall of the Wall, sees the attack as an assault on the freedom to be oneself. The CSD parade, named after the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York, is a symbol of that freedom. For many, the attack is the first murder during a Pride event in Berlin, and it has deepened the sense of vulnerability.