Not a lone perpetrator?

Van Plows Into Crowd at Pride Party

Abdul B. (small photo) carried out the attack on Berlin Pride using a white van.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/AFP/RALF HIRSCHBERGER)

Following the attack on Christopher Street Day in Berlin, a suspect has been identified. Abdul B., 21, who is still on the run, is known to police and is believed to be associated with the Islamist scene. He is alleged to have plowed into the celebrating crowd with a white van on Saturday and may also have stabbed passersby with a weapon. One woman died, and 16 other people were injured.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of Berlin on Saturday to stand up for democracy, tolerance, and diversity at Christopher Street Day and to demonstrate for the rights of LGBTQ people. The march proceeded peacefully, but the party that evening had to be abruptly ended shortly after 10 p.m. after a white van plowed into the crowd. According to witnesses, the driver got out of the vehicle and fled—and is also said to have attacked revelers with a stabbing weapon.

“Possibly armed and dangerous”
In the early morning hours, police announced that the suspect is 21-year-old Abdul B. and released a photo of the current prime suspect. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the 21-year-old—who is approximately 1.90 meters tall and slender—should “under no circumstances” approach him. “Avoid direct contact,” the statement reads. B. is “possibly armed and dangerous.” According to information from “Bild,” police also have leads on a possible accomplice.

According to witnesses, Abdul B. is also said to have been carrying a stabbing weapon during the attack. As the “B.Z.” reported, it is believed to have been a machete, which he used to attack several passersby. “Part of the investigation is determining whether there was a second phase of the attack following the driving phase,” said police spokesperson Florian Nath. It is also not yet clear whether one person or several fled from the van.

Abdul B. (small photo) carried out the attack on Berlin Pride using a white van.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/AFP/RALF HIRSCHBERGER)

Released from juvenile detention just this past May
As of early Sunday morning, police were still unable to provide further details on the suspect’s background and motives—measures to locate the man had been initiated and were proceeding “at full speed.” According to “Bild,” B. is a supporter of the Islamic State and was released from juvenile detention as recently as May. He is a German citizen—born in Berlin in 2005—of Lebanese descent.

According to the newspaper, an apartment in Berlin-Schöneberg was searched, and the manhunt was expanded to all German external borders that same night. Police authorities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, and Austria were alerted.

Woman died at the scene
Shortly after the attack, police described the situation near the van as a “mass casualty incident.” A later update stated that 16 people required medical attention. Three of them were reported to have life-threatening injuries, and eight others were seriously injured. Another person—reportedly a woman—died at the scene.

The bloody incident took place in the Tiergarten area, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate. Notably, visitors on the east side of the gate were not initially informed of the situation. The area was subsequently cordoned off.

This X post shows the moment the event was canceled:

“Leave the area!”
Within a very short time, participants in the celebrations were urged via social media channels and on a large screen on site to avoid the Victory Column and the Großer Tiergarten. “Leave the area and head toward the main train station!” was the call from the organizers, which was repeated several times by the police (see also the video above). 

Thermal-imaging drones deployed
Police helicopters and the GSG 9 special forces unit were called in to search for the suspect or suspects. The police also deployed thermal imaging drones, but according to the “Morgenpost,” investigators had already concluded by nightfall that the suspect was no longer in the area. 

The Großer Tiergarten alone covers an area of about 2.1 square kilometers, according to “Krone” journalist Christoph Engelmaier, who had traveled to Berlin for Christopher Street Day. He was among the revelers near the Victory Column; fortunately, he did not witness the rampage firsthand.

The rest of the party was then abruptly canceled—even Sarah Connor’s performance at the Brandenburg Gate had to be cut short. Up until then, the German singer had been performing her songs for about half an hour with a rainbow flag draped over her shoulders. After the concert, she posted a message to her fans on Instagram: “I’m at a loss for words.”

It remains unclear how the van was able to drive into the crowd. Engelmaier, who only began to “grasp the whole situation” a few hours later, explained that everything around the Pride event had already been secured with bollards and roadblocks in the lead-up to the bloody attack.

“Terrible attack on the city of freedom”
Berlin’s Governing Mayor, Kai Wegner, called it an “attack on our free and cosmopolitan society.” Berlin is the City of Freedom—“and our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way today.” He expressed his condolences to the victims and their families and his gratitude to the emergency responders.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the incident as a “heinous act,” according to his spokesperson, as reported by “Bild.” Thirty people received psychological counseling at the scene.