Chancellor Merz condemns Berlin CSD attack as 'assault on our society'; police hunt suspect Abdul B.
The Saturday evening ramming during Berlin's Christopher Street Day celebration left at least one dead and 16 injured. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it an attack on Germany's free and open society, while federal authorities offered support to the city as a manhunt unfolds for suspect Abdul B.
A man drove a vehicle into a crowd celebrating Christopher Street Day in Berlin's Tiergarten on Saturday evening, killing at least one person and injuring 16 others. Police are searching for a man described as Islamist Abdul B. The attack drew immediate condemnation from the highest levels of government, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling it an assault on the country's values.
The attack
The ramming occurred on Saturday evening, 25 July, as hundreds of thousands of people gathered peacefully for the annual CSD parade through the capital. The driver plowed into the crowd in the Tiergarten, the city's large central park that has long been a gathering point for the queer community. Police confirmed that among the 16 injured, three sustained life-threatening wounds, eight were seriously hurt, and five suffered minor injuries.
- Fatalities
- 1
- Life-threatening injuries
- 3
- Serious injuries
- 8
- Minor injuries
- 5
Political reactions
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was informed immediately after the fact, took to social media to express his revulsion.
What an abominable act in Berlin. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world were peacefully celebrating the Christopher Street Day. They wanted us to treat each other well and with tolerance. That is an attack on our society.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the attack as cowardly and abominable, offering federal support to Berlin authorities.
This cowardly, abominable attack on peacefully celebrating people shakes me deeply. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those who had to endure this act.
Berlin's governing mayor, Kai Wegner, who visited the scene on Saturday evening, said the gathering for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin had been "attacked in the most brutal way." He called it an attack on the city's free and open society. Stefan Evers, the CDU's lead candidate for Berlin, wrote that the attack "hits our city right in the heart" and called for a thorough investigation before drawing consequences.
Manhunt for the suspect
Police have launched a manhunt for the driver, identified in media reports as Abdul B., an Islamist. The federal interior minister pledged that everything would be done to swiftly clarify the attack and its background, while the government spokesman said the chancellor and interior minister stood "in closest contact" and were being continuously briefed by security agencies.
Emergency response
Stephan Weh, Berlin state chief of the police union, thanked the officers and firefighters who, "in this psychologically extremely tense situation, acted highly professionally and thus saved human lives." He stressed that terror must never prevail. Emergency services remained on high alert through the night as the investigation continued.
