Police are hunting for an attacker who drove a van into a crowd at Berlin’s biggest LGBTQ+ event late on Saturday, killing one person and wounding 16 in what they are treating as a suspected terrorist incident.
The vehicle hit people walking in the Tiergarten park in the center of the German capital, next to where thousands had gathered to celebrate the Pride event.
The suspect was known to police “as a member of Islamic circles” in Berlin, the Associated Press reported, citing a police spokesman, who did not specify the nature of those Islamic circles.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the incident as a “heinous act” and an attack on German society.
Witnesses described hearing “a dull bang” as chaos erupted at Tiergarten, next to the route that the Pride march had passed along earlier.
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Police said a van drove through the park shortly before 10 p.m. and hit several people. It was later found crashed into a tree and abandoned.
“There was a dull bang… after that, there were a few noises,” an eyewitness said.
“At first, we couldn’t make out what the screams were, because of the party, the music, and the atmosphere.
“We only realized later exactly what was going on, when the police cleared the park with machine guns and asked us to go home.”
The suspect, named by police as Abdul B., 21, is “alleged to have injured several people with a moving vehicle,” according to a statement later published on the website of Berlin police.
The statement also said one or several people were thought to have exited the vehicle following the impact, and that “furthermore, several people are reported to have been injured by stabbing weapons.”
‘Intensive search’
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade, the AP reported.
In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately once the attack happened, as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims, according to a translation by Reuters news agency.
“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” police officer Florian Nath said in a short video released on the X account of the Berlin police.
Berlin has long had a reputation of being a global capital for LGBTQ+ rights and the city hosted its first Christopher Street Day parade, also known as Berlin Pride, in 1979. One of the most influential Pride events in Europe, it brings together around 1 million supporters and advocates for the rights, visibility, and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people.
Alfonso Pantisano, the Berlin state government’s LGBTQ affairs commissioner, wrote on Instagram in the wake of the attack, “To you, my dear community: I know that many of you are afraid right now. I won’t sugarcoat it – I am, too. But you are not alone in this fear, in your grief, and in your anger.”
German rapper Ikkimel, who performed on the opening night of Berlin Pride at the Brandenburg Gate Friday, also took to her Instagram to deliver a message of solidarity; “Love is never the mistake, fear and hate never an answer,” she wrote.
“Please please stay strong. I will always stand up for us.”
“Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world were peacefully celebrating at Christopher Street Day. They wanted us to treat each other with kindness and tolerance,” Chancellor Merz said early Sunday. “We are open and freedom-loving – and we will preserve and defend that,” he said, as he pledged the attack would be investigated and pursued with the “utmost severity.”
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant Pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
He added, “Berlin is the city of freedom – and our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way today. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends.”
The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members, the AP reported.
Overall, more than 2,200 police officers have been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the Pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city, Reuters said.
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