A 21-year-old man suspected of carrying out a deadly vehicle and stabbing attack near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day Pride celebrations has been shot dead during a police operation.
Berlin police had earlier issued a public appeal for information about Abdul B., warning people not to approach him because he was believed to be armed and dangerous.
Officers located the suspect at an allotment garden complex in the western Berlin district of Spandau at about 6pm on Sunday, 26 July.
According to police, he ran towards officers while carrying a bladed weapon. Officers opened fire, and Abdul B. died at the scene despite attempts by emergency workers to resuscitate him.
One Killed and 29 Injured
The attack happened at about 10pm on Saturday in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, near the Brandenburg Gate and the city’s Christopher Street Day celebrations.
Authorities now say one person was killed and 29 were injured when a white vehicle drove into people in the park. Earlier reports had placed the number of injured at between 16 and 17.
Police said the vehicle struck several people before crashing into a tree.
When emergency services reached it, the vehicle was empty. Police believe one or more people may have fled after the crash.
Investigators have also received reports that several people were attacked with stabbing weapons. It remains unclear whether the suspected driver acted alone, whether other people were involved or precisely how the vehicle and stabbing incidents unfolded.
Suspect Was Known to Authorities
Before Abdul B. was located, police spokesperson Florian Nath said the suspect was already known to law enforcement.
“The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” Nath said.
He cautioned at the time that investigators had no confirmed information about “his specific motives, the exact sequence of events, or his role in the crime itself”.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt later said the available evidence pointed towards an Islamist terrorist attack.
“We are dealing here with a suspected perpetrator, who had previously drawn attention to himself through a high volume of criminal offences, radicalisation and affiliation with the Islamist scene,” Dobrindt said.
Germany’s 16 states have been advised to reconsider security arrangements for major public events, including upcoming Pride celebrations, amid concern that the Berlin attack could inspire copycat violence.
Pride Celebrations Abruptly Ended
Hundreds of thousands of people had taken part in Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day parade earlier on Saturday.
The event’s closing celebrations near the Brandenburg Gate were halted shortly after the attack. A live performance was interrupted, and attendees were instructed to leave the area.
The event, known locally as CSD, is one of Europe’s largest Pride celebrations. It combines a parade and entertainment programme with political calls for LGBTQ+ equality, inclusion and protection from discrimination.
Berlin’s first Christopher Street Day march was held in 1979. Its name refers to Christopher Street in New York, where the 1969 Stonewall uprising helped ignite the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Community Gathers in Grief
Thousands of people attended a vigil at Pariser Platz near the Brandenburg Gate on Sunday, despite rain and increased security.
The gathering reached capacity within about 30 minutes. Those attending observed a moment of silence, carried Pride flags and displayed messages of grief, anger and resistance.
Several related Pride events were cancelled, including a community breakfast market and a planned post-parade clean-up.
Berlin’s LGBTQ+ affairs commissioner, Alfonso Pantisano, acknowledged the fear felt across the community.
“To you, my dear community: I know that many of you are afraid right now. I won’t sugarcoat it – I am, too. But you are not alone in this fear, in your grief, and in your anger,” he said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attended a memorial service at St Mary’s Church and said the country would defend its democratic values.
“We will defend the freedom, openness, and liberal spirit of our lives and our society with everything we can do,” he said.
The investigation remains active as authorities work to establish the suspect’s motives, determine whether he had accomplices and reconstruct the full sequence of the deadly attack.
