What we know so far about the Berlin Pride ramming attack

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Watch: At the scene of Berlin Pride attack

One woman has been killed and at least 29 others injured after a van was driven into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event on Saturday night, in what officials say was likely an "Islamist terror attack".

The suspect, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, has been shot and killed during a police operation in west Berlin.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has condemned the incident as a "heinous" attack.

The attack happened at about 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT). A report was made to police in Berlin that a white vehicle had been driven into crowds at a Pride event in the capital.

Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered at Tiergarten park, near the iconic Brandenburg Gate, for the annual event, which is known as Christopher Street Day.

Some people were also stabbed in the incident, with a blade officials believe could have been a machete.

Shortly afterwards, the Pride event was cancelled.

A performance was abruptly brought to a end, with organisers taking to the stage and advising the crowd to start walking towards the exits.

As the message was being given to the crowd, the word "evacuation" was projected onto a large screen on the stage.

Unverified video posted to social media showed large crowds of people leaving the scene as emergency vehicles raced to the scene.

At about 01:00 local time, police confirmed that one woman had been killed and many more had suffered injuries.

A short time later, police confirmed they had found the vehicle believed to have been used in the attack, saying it had crashed into a tree. The vehicle is believed to have been rented.

Image source, Reuters Image caption, Investigators at the scene in Tiergarten park on Sunday

At about 03:30, police said on X they had identified a suspect with Islamist links.

The search area was widened to the entire city and involved thousands of police, including officers from surrounding German states.

On Sunday, police officers stood guard outside an apartment block in Berlin's Tiergarten district, which is said to be the suspect's home.

Police say he was later shot and killed at an allotment complex in Spandau, a borough in the west of the capital, after he rushed at officers with a knife.

The suspect has been named by police as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese background.

He was known to police and had been radicalised, officials said.

A statement released by the Berlin public prosecutor's office revealed further details about Ballout's criminal history.

In May 2025, prosecutors said he travelled via Turkey to Lebanon, with the intention of joining the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria. While in Lebanon he allegedly made contact with several individuals he believed were members of IS.

He was arrested in Lebanon in July 2025 and sentenced to three months in prison for incitement to religious and sectarian conflict.

Then in November 2025 he returned to Germany where he was arrested at Berlin Brandenburg Airport and held in pre-trial detention.

In May this year, he was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison for "preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state". The decision was deferred for six months and he was placed under the supervision of a parole officer.

He was previously convicted of assault and robbery in 2022, and of robbing a victim of headphones in 2020.

Image source, Polizei Berlin Where did the attack happen? The attack took place in the popular Tiergarten park, near the Brandenberg Gate.

A large number of people and floats took part in the Christopher Street Day event, which passed through the city, before moving through Tiergarten park, past the Victory Column monument, and towards the Brandenberg Gate.

Berlin Police have said people were hit on Ahornsteig, which is a long path stretching across the park, largely in a forested area.

European leaders have been swift to condemn the attack.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her sympathy to the victims, saying the Pride event stands for "freedom, dignity, and equality - the fundamental values of the EU".

"Every person should be able to live, love, and stand up for their rights without fear," she wrote on social media.

Rob Jetten, prime minister of the Netherlands, said the Dutch stand "shoulder to shoulder with our German neighbours", while Italy's prime minister Georgia Meloni expressed "solidarity and sincere sympathy".

The UK's defence secretary Wes Streeting called the incident "an absolutely horrific disaster", adding his thoughts and prayers are with the German people.

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Berlin Pride attack suspect shot and killed during police operation