One woman has been killed and 16 people injured after a van ploughed into the crowd during the Pride celebrations in Berlin on Saturday evening. German police are now searching for Abdul B (21), a man they themselves describe as part of the city’s Islamist milieu. He is believed to be armed and dangerous.
The attack occurred at around 10 p.m. on Saturday in Tiergarten, central Berlin. A white van drove at high speed into the crowd close to where Christopher Street Day (CSD) was holding its closing celebration, a stone’s throw from the Brandenburg Gate. The vehicle struck several people before crashing into a tree. On Sunday morning, the wreck was still lodged against the tree, its front end crushed.
One woman was killed. The Berlin Fire Brigade reports that three people sustained life-threatening injuries, eight were seriously injured and five suffered minor injuries. Police state that several people were also injured in a knife attack after one or more individuals left the vehicle.
Search for 21-year-old
On Sunday, German police and prosecutors formally issued a wanted notice for the perpetrator. They are asking the public for assistance in locating the 21-year-old, whom they identify as Abdul B. He is alleged to have injured several people with the vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Police warn the public not to make “direct contact” with the man. He may be armed and dangerous, and members of the public are urged to contact the police rather than attempting to stop him themselves.
“The suspect is known to the police. He is known to us as part of the Islamist milieu here in Berlin, and the search for this individual is continuing at full intensity,” police spokesman Florian Nath said.
At the same time, Nath said investigators currently have no information regarding “his specific motive”. The case is being investigated by the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office and the State Criminal Police Office.
Operation in Schöneberg
Police carried out several operations across the city in their search for Abdul B. During the night leading into Sunday, they searched a flat in the Schöneberg district. They found no one there.
The attack brought the celebrations to an abrupt halt. The CSD event at the Brandenburg Gate was cancelled at around 10:15 p.m., and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were asked to return home and avoid travelling through Tiergarten.
Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands had gathered in Berlin for one of Europe’s largest Pride events. Around 80 lorries had driven through the city centre as part of the parade. How many people remained late in the evening is unclear.
“An attack on our society”
Berlin’s Governing Mayor, Kai Wegner, described the incident as “an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society”.
“Berlin is the city of freedom – and today our freedom has been horrifically attacked,” Wegner wrote.
Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the incident as “an attack on our society”. “What a vile act in Berlin,” Merz wrote on X, adding that Germany loves freedom “and we will preserve and defend it”.
The search for Abdul B is continuing.