A deadly attack near Berlin’s massive Pride celebration left one person dead and 29 others injured after a van plowed through a crowd before the alleged driver fled, triggering an intense citywide manhunt.
The suspect was later shot and killed during a confrontation with police, authorities announced Sunday.
The violence erupted at around 10 p.m. Saturday, July 25, near Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day celebration, one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ events.
Authorities said a white van drove into people gathered inside Tiergarten park, near the Brandenburg Gate and just off the parade route. The vehicle continued through the area before crashing into a tree.
The driver allegedly abandoned the damaged van and escaped on foot.
One person was killed, while 29 others were injured, including several victims who initially suffered life-threatening wounds, according to updated reports from German authorities.
Police initially said they did not know whether one person or multiple attackers were involved.
“The car was empty, which is why we are currently working intensively to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators,” a police spokesperson told Reuters shortly after the attack.
More than 2,200 police officers from across Germany were deployed as authorities searched Berlin, examined evidence and appealed to the public for photos, videos and information.
“We are now piecing together the facts based on the evidence found at the scene,” police spokesperson Florian Nath said. “The search radius covers the entire city.”
Authorities later identified the suspected attacker as Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese heritage who was reportedly known to law enforcement and had alleged ties to Islamist extremism. Investigators began treating the bloodshed as a suspected terrorist attack.
Police said the attack did not end when the van crashed.
The suspect allegedly got out of the vehicle and attacked additional people with a machete or similar bladed weapon before fleeing the scene. Authorities launched a roughly 24-hour search that ended in Berlin’s Spandau district.
Police said Ballout approached officers while carrying a sharp object and was fatally shot during the confrontation.
Reports said the suspect had previously attracted authorities’ attention over alleged extremist activity. He had reportedly attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIS in 2025 and was convicted earlier in 2026 of promoting ISIS material and preparing violence, though he received a suspended youth sentence while his case remained under appeal.
Investigators are continuing to examine his background, movements and possible motive, as well as whether anyone else helped plan or carry out the attack.
The violence brought an abrupt and terrifying end to what had been a colorful day of celebration and political activism.
Before the attack, hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin as marchers traveled through the city alongside approximately 80 parade floats. Christopher Street Day commemorates the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City and serves as both a Pride celebration and a demonstration for LGBTQ+ rights.
Police canceled the remainder of Saturday night’s festivities following the attack, interrupting a concert and urging visitors to leave the area without passing through Tiergarten park.
Images from the scene showed injured and shaken attendees wrapped in emergency blankets as police officers, paramedics and firefighters flooded the park. Authorities also established a hotline for people unable to locate friends or relatives.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the bloodshed as an assault on the city’s values.
“After a peaceful and colorful CSD, the assembly for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way,” Wegner said. “Berlin is the city of freedom — and our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way today.”
He expressed sympathy for the victims and praised emergency workers for responding immediately.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the attack as a “horrific act” and vowed that authorities would fully investigate it and hold those responsible accountable.
The deadly incident occurred near the Pride celebration rather than directly on the official parade route, authorities said. Police are continuing to reconstruct exactly how the attack unfolded and determine whether the LGBTQ+ gathering was deliberately selected as the target.
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