Berlin police shoot dead suspect in Pride parade attack that killed one and injured 29
Abdul Ballout, 21, was tracked to a community garden in Spandau on Sunday and shot after charging officers with a knife. The attack on the Christopher Street Day parade left one woman dead and 29 injured.
Attack at the Tiergarten
On Saturday evening, around 22:00 local time, a white Citroën van registered in Berlin drove into pedestrians gathered near the Tiergarten park along the route of the Christopher Street Day parade, the city's annual LGBTQ+ pride event. The vehicle struck a tree after hitting the crowd. Witnesses reported that several people fled the van and stabbed bystanders with machetes before escaping. One woman died and 29 people were injured, with three initially in critical condition. By Sunday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that no one appeared to be in immediate danger of dying.
The parade, which had drawn hundreds of thousands of participants, was called off immediately as organisers and police urged the crowd to leave the area. The damaged vehicle remained at the scene overnight and was towed for forensic examination the following morning.
Suspect identified as Islamist with prior conviction
Police identified the driver overnight as Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese origin. He was already known to security services for links to Islamist circles and had attempted to travel to Syria in 2025 to join the Islamic State (ISIS). He was intercepted in Lebanon, detained, and later deported to Germany. In May 2026, a court convicted him of "preparation of a serious act of violence endangering state security", but he was not incarcerated because his six months of pre-trial detention in Germany and three months in Lebanon were credited, and he had confessed.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated on Sunday that "everything points to an Islamist terrorist attack". The minister also revised the injury tally from 16 to 29. An Iranian citizen, suspected of being the passenger during the attack, was arrested earlier on Sunday.
Manhunt ends in Spandau with fatal shooting
By Sunday afternoon, SEK (Special Operations Command) officers had tracked Ballout to a community garden complex in Berlin's Spandau district. At approximately 18:00 local time, police confronted him. According to a Berlin police statement on social media, the suspect ran toward the officers wielding a knife, prompting them to open fire. Firefighters attempted resuscitation at the scene, but Ballout was pronounced dead.
The garden plot reportedly belonged to the suspect's father, according to the Bild newspaper. The exact circumstances of the police intervention remain under investigation.
Aftermath and official response
The attack immediately disrupted one of Europe's largest Pride events. On Sunday, Chancellor Merz attended a church service at St. Mary's Church in Berlin and told reporters that, according to updated medical information, none of the injured remained in mortal danger. The federal prosecutor took over the investigation, treating the incident as jihadist terrorism linked to ISIS. Authorities are still examining the suspect's network and any further accomplices.
- White Citroën van drives into crowd near Tiergarten; one woman killed, at least 29 injured.
- Police identify suspect as Abdul Ballout, a German-Lebanese citizen with known Islamist ties, and launch manhunt.
- Iranian accomplice arrested; Interior Minister Dobrindt confirms Islamic extremist motive.
- SEK officers shoot Ballout dead after he charges them with a knife in Spandau community gardens.
