Berlin Pride attack suspect shot dead after manhunt

The suspect in Saturday's deadly van-ramming attack near Berlin's Pride festival was shot and killed by police during an operation on Sunday, the BBC and the Telegraph reported, ending an intensive manhunt that gripped the German capital overnight.bbc+1

The Attack

The violence erupted around 10 p.m. on Saturday in Tiergarten park, near the route of Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day Pride march, when a white van was driven at high speed into a crowd of revelers near the Brandenburg Gate. One woman was killed and at least 16 others were injured, with three sustaining life-threatening injuries, according to Berlin's fire service. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt later said the number of injured had risen to 29.dw+4

The driver reportedly fled on foot after the vehicle collided with a tree. Reports from BBC News and France 24 indicated the suspect also attacked people with a machete after exiting the vehicle. Organizers canceled the remainder of the Pride celebration, one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ events, which draws hundreds of thousands of participants each year.euronews+3

The Suspect and the Manhunt

Authorities identified the suspect as Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese roots, and issued a public wanted notice warning that he may be armed and dangerous. Berlin police spokesperson Florian Nath told reporters on Sunday that the suspect "is known to us as a member of the Islamist scene here in Berlin".wtvbam+3

German media including Bild and Der Spiegel reported that Ballout was a supporter of the Islamic State group who had previously traveled to the Middle East in a failed attempt to join IS, and that he had been released from juvenile detention in May 2026. Interior Minister Dobrindt classified the attack as an act of Islamist terror. "Everything we see here points to us dealing with an Islamic terror attack," he told reporters at the scene on Sunday.facebook+2

Aftermath

A large vigil took place at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Sunday as the city mourned the attack. The incident has revived concerns about extremist violence in Germany following other attacks in recent years. Police have urged witnesses to come forward as the investigation continues into whether Ballout acted alone or had accomplices.telegraph+2