A 21-year-old man was shot dead by police on Sunday after allegedly driving a minivan into a crowd during Berlin’s Pride parade, killing one person and injuring 29 others. The attack happened in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at around 10pm local time on Saturday, near one of Europe’s biggest annual LGBTQ+ celebrations.
The suspect, identified as Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese heritage, was known to police and had been radicalised. He had previously been convicted of assault and robbery in 2022, and of robbery in 2020. In May 2025, he had travelled to Lebanon with the intention of joining Islamic State in Syria, and was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison for incitement to religious and sectarian conflict.
Ballout was shot dead by police at an allotment garden complex in the city’s Spandau suburb at about 6pm on Sunday, after a manhunt. Police said he ran at emergency services personnel with a bladed weapon, prompting police to open fire. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts, he died at the scene.
The incident has intensified debate around security and immigration in Germany, with calls across the political spectrum to tighten laws and crack down on Islamic radicalism. Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed consequences and urged Germans not to be intimidated, affirming the country would stand united in defence of its freedom.
The attack comes at a sensitive time for Merz’s unpopular coalition government, which is going through a bruising cabinet reshuffle. State elections take place in two months, with the far-right opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaigning on issues including immigration and security.
The organisers of Christopher Street Day said in a statement that they did not want the attack to be exploited for political purposes or for people to be placed under general suspicion. They added that such violence was an attempt to divide society and incite people against each other.
.png?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800)
