German police on manhunt for Berlin Pride attack suspect
Berlin is gripped by tension as police embark on a manhunt for 21-year-old Abdul B. The young man has been named as the prime suspect in a fatal van attack that disrupted a German Pride Festival. The tragic incident claimed the life of one individual and left 16 others nursing serious injuries after a vehicle hurtled into a crowd close to the festival route. Authorities are delving into disturbing reports of additional stab wounds and have not ruled out terrorism as a motive, pointing to the suspect’s alleged connections to Islamic groups.
With suspected links to Germany’s so-called “Islamist scene,” the alleged assailant is evading capture after steering a van into a mass of people near Berlin’s Pride event. This frightening episode, where acts of violence reportedly included machete attacks, is being treated as an Islamic terror attack by officials. It resulted in one person dead and at least 29 others injured.
On Sunday, a massive search operation was underway, spearheaded by German authorities, to locate Abdul Ballout. He is a German national of Lebanese descent, and officials warn that he could be both armed and hazardous to the public.
“All signs here indicate that we’re facing an Islamic terror attack,” declared German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
Abdul Ballout, described as a German citizen with roots in Lebanon, stands accused in the Berlin van attack, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed Sunday. (Berlin Police)
The minister said the suspect had previously come to the attention of authorities for multiple crimes, as well as his “radicalization and belonging to the Islamist scene.”
Dobrindt said Ballout was born in Germany and that his mother became a naturalized German citizen in 2002, three years before he was born. He said the suspect previously received a suspended prison sentence of one year and 10 months but did not disclose what he had been convicted of.
Police officers stand near a vehicle crashed into a tree after driving into a crowd near Berlin’s annual Pride event, in Germany, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Police said a white van drove into a crowd in Berlin’s Tiergarten park around 10 p.m. on Saturday before crashing into a tree. Authorities say the suspect then attacked several people with a machete before fleeing.
A woman was killed, while three people suffered life-threatening injuries and eight others were seriously hurt, according to Berlin’s fire service. Dobrindt said at least 29 people were injured.
Emergency personnel and police gather in Berlin, early Sunday, July 26, 2026, following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day festivities. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
The attack happened a few hundred yards from Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride celebration — one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ events — but not on the parade route or at the festival’s closing event near the Brandenburg Gate. Investigators said the victims appeared to include both Pride attendees and other people who were in the park.
Organizers stopped the celebration shortly after the attack, cutting off a live performance and urging people to leave the area.
People stand on 17 June Street following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day in Berlin on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/DPA via AP)
Berlin police said Ballout has been identified as the suspect but had not been arrested as of Sunday. Police spokesman Florian Nath earlier said the suspect was known to investigators because of his alleged ties to Islamic groups in Berlin.
“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,” Nath said, according to The Associated Press. “We still have no information whatsoever regarding his specific motives, the exact sequence of events, or his role in the crime itself.”
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt speaks to the media near the scene where a car rammed into a crowd at the Pride March in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Police searched several locations across Berlin overnight and into Sunday, including an apartment in the Schöneberg district, but did not find the suspect.
The manhunt is ongoing.