Berlin Pride attack: One dead, 16 hurt after van rams LGBTQ+ crowd

Berkeley,UPDATED: Jul 26, 2026 07:10 IST

One person was killed and at least 16 others were injured after a van rammed into people gathered near Berlin's LGBTQ+ celebrations on Saturday night, prompting police to call off the event and a concert in the German capital. Police said some of the injured were initially reported to have life-threatening wounds.

Berlin police said they have identified a suspect who has not been arrested and has ties to Islamic extremists in the city. "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," police spokesman Florian Nath said.

According to police, a white van drove into Tiergarten park at around 10 pm. The park is next to the route taken earlier by the pride march. The van hit several people before crashing into a tree. Police said a large number of officers were at the scene, while more than 2,200 police personnel had been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning for the pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events.

In a post on X, police asked everyone to leave the area immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims. Nath said in a video released on the Berlin police account: "We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects." Police were questioning witnesses through the night and were also examining accounts that some victims appeared to have stab wounds, but said it was too early to draw any conclusion from those reports.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said he was shocked by what happened. "Following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner," he said. "This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society. I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate." Authorities also asked witnesses to share any videos or photos from the scene and activated a crisis hotline for people searching for missing friends or family members.

Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin for Christopher Street Day, one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations. The event at Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off at around 10.15 pm and a band's performance was interrupted, with people urged to go home and avoid the route through the park. Earlier, the celebrations had been peaceful, with people marching for hours, dancing to loud music and cheering around 80 floats in the parade. Julian Miethig, who had attended the event at Brandenburg Gate, said he was about to go to an afterparty when a friend told him that "something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire trucks, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances". He said he went to Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened at Berlin's pride celebrations, adding: "It's a dark day for the community."

The attack turned a day of large and peaceful pride celebrations in Berlin into a major emergency response, leaving one person dead, at least 16 injured and the city's flagship LGBTQ+ event cut short as police continued their investigation and search for the suspect.

With PTI Inputs

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