Authorities are searching for a 21-year-old man known to police after a vehicle was driven into crowds near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day celebration, leaving one person dead and several victims critically injured.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Berlin authorities are conducting a manhunt for a suspected Islamic extremist accused of driving a white vehicle into people gathered near a major gay-pride parade Saturday night, killing one person and injuring 16 others.
Several of those wounded suffered life-threatening injuries following the attack, which occurred at approximately 10 p.m. in the Großer Tiergarten area of the German capital. Police said the driver fled the scene and remained at large.
Investigators identified the suspect as 21-year-old “Abdul B.” Authorities described him as someone already known to law enforcement and connected to Islamist circles.
“According to current findings, it concerns a man known to the police who is attributed to the Islamist spectrum,” a Berlin police spokesman said.
The attack took place during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day pride parade, one of Europe’s largest LGBT gatherings. Hundreds of thousands of people reportedly attended events along the parade route before the vehicle struck revelers later in the evening.
Police continued searching for the suspect as emergency crews treated the injured and investigators worked to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the ramming as “an attack on our free and open society.”
“After a peaceful and colorful CSD, the assembly for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way. Berlin is the city of freedom—and our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way today. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends.”
The incident follows several other deadly vehicle attacks in Germany in recent years.
Two people were killed and several others wounded in May when a driver struck victims in Leipzig.
A separate mass-casualty attack occurred in December 2024, when a Saudi Arabian man drove into visitors at a Christmas market in Magdeburg. Five people were killed and more than 200 were injured.
The driver in that case, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in June.
Authorities had not announced the arrest of the Berlin suspect as the search continued.
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