A vehicle attack near Berlin’s Pride parade has left one person dead and at least 29 injured. German officials say it was an act of Islamist terrorism. The attack happened over the weekend. A white van drove into a crowd close to the Pride march route.
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered for the annual event near the Brandenburg Gate. Parade organisers quickly told the crowd to leave calmly and go home. People followed police instructions and left the area.
The suspect was a 21-year-old man named Abdul Ballout. He is a German citizen with Lebanese roots. After the attack, he ran from the scene.
Witnesses say he was carrying a machete. Police searched for him for almost a full day. On Sunday evening, they found him in a community garden on the edge of Berlin. Officers shot and killed him there.
Prosecutors shared new details about Ballout’s past. Last year, he travelled to Lebanon and tried to join ISIS. When he came back to Berlin, police arrested him. A court later convicted him of preparing a violent act. However, he received only a suspended sentence. Prosecutors were unhappy with that outcome and had filed an appeal.
German leaders responded strongly to the attack. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it a shocking act. He said terrorists do not belong in German society. He also promised that Germans will not be scared into hiding. He said such attacks try to destroy the country’s freedom and openness, but that this won’t happen.
Berlin’s mayor, Kai Wegner, echoed similar feelings. He described the attack as violence against the entire city. He vowed that no one will be allowed to destroy the German way of life.
Pride organiser Thomas Hoffmann spoke about a larger pattern. He said LGBTQ rights have improved for many years. But he warned that this progress is now at risk. He said the community had grown too comfortable and now needs to actively defend its safety and visibility.
He noted that neo-Nazis have recently organised an increasing number of anti-Pride protests. A large number of people attended Berlin Pride this year, despite the dangers.
For many attendees, though, the celebration turned into tragedy, becoming a scene of fear and loss. Life in Berlin, especially for those in the LGBTQ community, feels different now.
