Berlin Pride Attack Suspect Killed by Police After 24-Hour Manhunt
Police in Berlin shot dead the suspect behind Saturday’s deadly Pride attack after a tense 24-hour manhunt. Here’s everything we know about the German capital’s terror investigation.
Berlin’s Pride weekend ended in tragedy, and by Sunday evening, the manhunt that gripped the German capital was over too.
Police confirmed they had shot and killed the suspect behind Saturday night’s attack near the city’s Pride celebrations, bringing a chaotic 24 hours to a close. The suspect, identified by authorities as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, was tracked down at an allotment garden complex in Berlin’s Spandau district on Sunday evening.
According to police, Ballout rushed at officers from Berlin’s special tactical unit with a bladed weapon when they moved in to arrest him. Officers opened fire, and despite efforts by emergency responders to resuscitate him, he died at the scene.
The attack itself unfolded Saturday night near Tiergarten park, close to the Brandenburg Gate, where Berlin’s Pride festivities were wrapping up. Authorities say Ballout drove a van into a crowd before jumping out and attacking bystanders with a machete. One woman was killed, and 29 others were injured, some critically.
German officials have called it an Islamist terror attack, and prosecutors say Ballout had previously tried to join the Islamic State group. The incident has reignited a familiar and painful debate in Germany over vehicle-ramming attacks, radicalisation, and immigration policy, especially with far-right sentiment already on the rise nationally.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz didn’t mince words, calling the attack “a heinous act” and urging the country not to let fear divide it. “These acts have only one purpose,” he said. “They aim to divide our society… take away from us the most important thing we have: our openness and our freedom.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also weighed in, offering condolences and reaffirming that Pride “stands for freedom, dignity, and equality” — sentiments echoed across Berlin’s queer community, still processing what was supposed to be a celebration.
Germany’s interior minister has signalled that security at major public events, including future Pride festivals nationwide, will now be reviewed and likely tightened.
