Police ID suspect in deadly car-ramming attack on Berlin Pride festival
German authorities seek Abdul Ballout after ‘Islamist terror attack’ that killed one person and injured 29.
German police are searching for a 21-year-old man they suspect was responsible for driving a van into a crowd gathered for Berlin’s Pride festival, killing one person and injuring at least 29.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt named the suspect as Abdul Ballout on Sunday, saying: “Everything we see here indicates that this was an Islamist terror attack.”
Ballout was known to the authorities for a “high number” of previous crimes and for being radicalised, the minister said.
The suspect had a criminal conviction for which he received a suspended sentence of one year and 10 months.
According to German media, he was convicted of “preparing a serious act of subversive violence” after a failed attempt to join ISIL (ISIS).
“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,” police spokesman Florian Nath said.
Dobrindt said officers at train stations, airports and Germany’s borders had been alerted to be on the lookout for Ballout, who is described as being about 190cm (6ft, 2 inches) tall with black hair and dressed in a black hoodie and white trousers.
The attack took place about 10pm (20:00 GMT) on Saturday in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate and prompted police to end the event early. Some of the casualties had life-threatening injuries.
Police reported that at least one male left the vehicle and fled after it rammed through the crowd. Dobrindt said Ballout was suspected of then using a machete to attack more people. The van was left abandoned in the park.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged on Sunday to punish the perpetrators.
In a statement, he said he and Dobrindt would “push to make sure this horrific act is fully investigated and punished”.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying, “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.”
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.
People gathered for a vigil in the square in front of Brandenburg Gate on Sunday afternoon, and others assembled on Under den Linden, a central Berlin avenue that begins at the square. People also left messages of condolences and support at the site.
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to the city to participate in the Pride parade for what is known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It is one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ celebrations.
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to music and cheering the approximately 80 floats that participated in the parade.
