One dead and several injured at Berlin's
LGBTQ+ march after a car drives into the
crowd
A van slammed into people gathered for Berlin’s famed Pride festival on Saturday night, killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to call off the celebrations and a concert in the German capital hours after they had begun.
Issued on: 26/07/2026 - RFI
By:RFI
Berlin police said they have identified a suspect who has not been arrested and he has ties to Islamic groups in the German capital.
“The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” said police spokesman Florian Nath. He did not identify the suspect by name.
Nath added that “we still have no information whatsoever regarding his specific motives, the exact sequence of events, or his role in the crime itself.”
Earlier, police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims.
According to police, a white van had driven into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m., which is next to the route that the pride march had passed along earlier, and hit several people before colliding with a tree. Police could not say how many officers had been deployed to the scene but that it was “definitely a lot of police.”
Killing of gay man to be investigated as homophobic crime following protests
Overall, more than 2,200 police officers have been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city.
Police were conducting witness interrogations at the park during the night and were investigating accounts that in addition to the crash some victims appeared to have suffered stab wounds — but that it was too early to draw any conclusion from those accounts.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Wegner said. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
Meanwhile, authorities called on possible witnesses to come forward and share with police any video or photos they might have taken at the scene of the attack.
The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members.
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Wegner said. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
Meanwhile, authorities called on possible witnesses to come forward and share with police any video or photos they might have taken at the scene of the attack.
The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members.
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
The pride event in front of the city’s Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the park.
(with newswires)
HOMOPHOBIA AND FUNDAMENTALISM KILL
Car rams crowd at Berlin Pride event, killing one and injuring 16
A manhunt is underway in the German capital. Police have released a photo of the suspect and named him as 21-year-old Abdul B.
A car ploughed into a crowd celebrating Berlin's Christopher Street Day Pride event on Saturday night, killing one person and leaving at least 16 others injured.
The incident occurred at around 10 pm. Three people remain in a life-threatening condition.
According to initial information, a vehicle drove into a crowd on Lennéstrasse. The car then collided with a tree before the suspect apparently managed to flee.
Berlin police have since announced that they had identified a suspect who they said is "known to the police" and "believed to be associated with Islamist circles."
Police have released a photo of the suspect and named him as 21-year-old Abdul B.
They warned people not to approach him as he may be "armed and dangerous."
"What a despicable act in Berlin," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote in a statement published on social media.
"Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world were celebrating peacefully at Christopher Street Day. They wanted us to treat one another with kindness and tolerance," he said. "This is an attack on our society".
The Pride parade was cancelled after the incident.
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