Berlin Pride parade attacker shot dead by police in allotment gardens; one killed, 29 injured in vehicle ramming

A 21-year-old man suspected of carrying out a deadly vehicle attack at Berlin's annual Pride parade was shot dead by police on Sunday evening, ending a manhunt that had gripped the German capital since Saturday night.

The attack

The attacker drove a white van at high speed into a crowd gathered in an alleyway in the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m. on Saturday. The site sits in the heart of Berlin, close to the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz, where the Christopher Street Day parade had been drawing to a close along Lennéstrasse. Witnesses described the vehicle moving at speed, and some told investigators the driver attacked people with a knife after leaving the van. Police are examining those accounts.

A woman died at the scene from her injuries, Berlin police spokesman Florian Nath confirmed on Sunday morning. Of the 29 people injured, eight sustained serious wounds, three were fighting for their lives, and five suffered lighter injuries. Around 30 attendees received psychological support.

The suspect

Berlin police identified the suspect as Abdul B., a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese descent born in Germany in 2005. Authorities said he had a prior criminal record involving numerous offences and was known to belong to Berlin's Islamist scene. Some outlets, including the Bild tabloid, reported his full name as Abdul Ballout and described him as a sympathiser of the so-called Islamic State.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters at the scene that "everything we see here indicates we are dealing with an Islamist terrorist attack." He added that the suspect "had previously attracted attention through a large number of crimes, radicalisation and affiliation with the Islamist milieu."

The manhunt

After the attacker fled the scene, police launched an intensive search involving special units, helicopters and numerous patrols. Officers raided an apartment in the Schöneberg district but did not find the suspect. A warrant was issued and his photograph was released to the public.

Berlin's interior senator Iris Spranger thanked the security services, telling Bild: "I am grateful to the security services that the perpetrator of the attack was found so quickly. It is a tremendous achievement."

The shooting

On Sunday evening, police tracked the suspect to a garden allotment complex in the Spandau district on Berlin's western outskirts. According to the RBB broadcaster, cited by Reuters, a special operations unit (SEK) was deployed to arrest him. Police said the suspect ran at the officers with a bladed weapon, prompting them to open fire; he died at the scene despite attempts to resuscitate him. Berlin police confirmed the death on the platform X, stating the operation had concluded in the allotment gardens.

## Aftermath

The parade was halted immediately after the attack. Organisers displayed an evacuation message on large screens and urged attendees to leave the area calmly. Access to the Potsdamer Platz area was sealed off. Chancellor Friedrich Merz was kept informed as the situation unfolded, and the investigation continues under the direction of federal prosecutors as a terrorist attack.