The man suspected of carrying out a deadly attack during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day celebrations was shot dead by the police on Sunday after being located in the Spandau district of the German capital, according to German newspaper Die Zeit.
The suspect, identified by authorities as Abdul B, had been the subject of a major police manhunt following Saturday night’s attack, in which a van was driven into a crowd before the attacker allegedly assaulted people with a bladed weapon believed to be a machete.
One person was killed and at least 29 others were injured in the attack near the festival’s closing event. Officials had earlier warned that the suspect, described as a German citizen with Lebanese roots, was believed to be armed and dangerous.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said investigators believe the suspect drove a van into pedestrians before attacking victims with a machete. “The suspect is known to police,” police spokesperson Florian Nath said during the search. “Our search for this person is proceeding at full speed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy9X_0QpcVsNath said investigators had not established a motive and that there was still no clear information about the sequence of events or the suspect’s role in the attack.
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin for one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations. The Pride event near the Brandenburg Gate was called off at about 10:15 p.m., with attendees urged to leave the area and avoid passing through the nearby park.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack, calling it “a violation of our free and cosmopolitan society.” “Berlin is the city of freedom—and our freedom has been terribly attacked today,” he said, according to Bild.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also reacted to the incident, writing on X: “What an abhorrent act in Berlin.”
The attack is the latest in a series of incidents in Germany in which vehicles have been driven into crowds.