Berlin Pride attack probed as Islamist terror, suspect still at large

Berlin,UPDATED: Jul 26, 2026 18:30 IST

German authorities believe a van ramming and stabbing near Berlin's Pride festival that killed a woman and injured 29 others was an Islamist terror attack. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sunday, "Everything we see here points to us dealing with an Islamic terror attack."

The suspect, Abdul Ballout, remains at large and police have warned people not to approach him, saying he may be armed and dangerous. The attack happened on Saturday night near the closing party of Berlin's Pride festival, known as Christopher Street Day, which was later called off.

Authorities said Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, is suspected of driving a white van into a crowd in Tiergarten park at around 10 pm before the vehicle hit a tree. He then allegedly attacked other people with a weapon believed to be a machete. Police said earlier that they had identified a suspect with ties to Islamic groups in the German capital.

Police spokesperson Florian Nath said, "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," adding that investigators had no information on "his specific motives." Police also carried out operations across the city, including a search at an apartment in Berlin's Schoneberg district in the early hours of Sunday, but said no one was found there.

Police said a woman was killed in the attack. Berlin's fire service said three people suffered life-threatening injuries, eight were seriously injured and five had slight injuries. Dobrindt later put the total number of injured at 29.

The closing party next to the Brandenburg Gate was under way when the attack took place, shortly after a parade of about 80 trucks had moved through central Berlin earlier in the day. The event was called off at around 10.15 pm, a band's stage performance was interrupted, and people were told to go home and avoid the route through the park.

Julian Miethig, who had attended the Pride festival nearby, said he had planned to go to an after-party 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 added, "It's a dark day for the community."

Ricarda Hofmann, one of the presenters at the Pride party, said in an Instagram post that she had been there "not just as a moderator, but as part of a community that comes together to be visible. To celebrate love. To stand up for each other." She said the attack left her speechless, adding, "What happened today has changed something in me."

Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin for Saturday's celebrations, though it was not clear how many were still at the festival by late evening. The damaged van, with its front crushed against a tree, was still at the scene on Sunday morning.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the incident as "an attack on our society." In a post on X, he wrote, "What an abhorrent act in Berlin," and added that Germany loves freedom, "and we will preserve and defend that." In neighbouring Netherlands, where Amsterdam is hosting World Pride this week and next alongside its annual Pride celebrations, Mayor Femke Halsema said authorities and organisers "are closely monitoring the security situation" after the Berlin attack. She said security is always high for such events and extra measures will be added where necessary, "which visitors will hopefully notice as little as possible. Because we don't want to be scared and we want to be able to celebrate freedom and being able to be who you are and love who you want to."

The attack near one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations left one woman dead, 29 people injured and the suspect still on the run, as German authorities continued their search and treated the case as a suspected Islamist terror attack.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends