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Police Kill Suspect After Van Plows Into Crowd at Berlin Pride

Authorities are treating the attack as an Islamist-motivated terrorist act.

Overview

  • A white van drove into a crowd in the Tiergarten during Christopher Street Day on Saturday night, leaving one person dead and up to 29 people injured.
  • Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout and located him the next day in Spandau, where officers shot him after he allegedly attacked them with a knife.
  • Prosecutors and officials say Ballout had tried to travel to join ISIS in 2025, held prior convictions for extremism-related offences, and had been in a deradicalization program under partial supervision.
  • The Federal Public Prosecutor has opened a terrorism investigation, detectives are probing whether there were accomplices, and several people connected to the suspect have been detained for questioning.
  • Organizers suspended Pride events, mourners held vigils near the Brandenburg Gate, and political leaders ordered reviews of security and monitoring of radicalized individuals.