Van Attack on Berlin Gay Pride Parade Kills 1, Injures 29; Suspect Killed by Police

A van plowed into a crowd during a gay pride parade in Berlin on Saturday night, killing one person and injuring at least 29 others. The attack prompted a massive manhunt for the suspect, who ended up shot dead by police on Sunday.

The incident took place on Christopher Street Day, the German capital’s annual pride event, on Lennestrasse near the Tiergarten park in central Berlin. Police spokesman Florian Nath said the suspect has been identified and remains at large. “According to the information available so far, he is a man known to the police and believed to be associated with the Islamist extremist milieu.”

Police later released a photograph of the suspect, identifying him as 21-year-old Abdul B., who was wearing a black hoodie and white pants. Police said the driver fled the scene after the vehicle hit a tree and that helicopters were deployed in the search. According to the Berliner Morgenpost, witnesses said the suspect was driving a white minivan, possibly a Citroen. Police later confirmed that the vehicle was a passenger van.

The suspect was found in West Berlin late on Sunday and fatally wounded after lunging at officers with a knife, the city’s police have said in a statement. Organizers canceled the parade, which was set to resume on Sunday.

Police spokesman Florian Nath said investigators were examining whether the suspect attacked bystanders after leaving the vehicle, following witness reports that people were lying on the ground with stab wounds. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been briefed on the incident and is in close contact with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, a government spokesperson said. “His thoughts are with the victims,” the spokesperson added.

“This is an attack on our free and open society,” Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner wrote on X. “After a peaceful and colorful pride parade, a gathering celebrating a tolerant and open Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way.”

Germany has seen several vehicle attacks in recent years. The deadliest incident took place in 2016, when an Islamist and failed asylum seeker drove a truck through a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring more than 50.