One person was killed and 29 others injured when an attacker drove a van into people near Berlin's Pride celebrations and then assaulted others with what authorities believed was a machete. The vehicle was abandoned after crashing into a tree, and police began a major search.
The attack started shortly before 10 p.m. in Tiergarten park in central Berlin. The victims were walking near the route of the Christopher Street Day parade, although police said the location was outside the event's official area. Emergency personnel treated casualties while armed officers cleared the park and asked people to leave.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said the person killed was a Polish woman visiting the city with her daughter. The supplied report did not name her. Police said the next day that none of the injured remained in life-threatening condition, but it did not provide a complete breakdown of their ages or injuries.
Witnesses initially struggled to distinguish the impact and screams from music and activity around the celebration. After recognizing the danger, attendees fled or followed police directions away from the park. The city activated a hotline for people trying to locate friends and relatives.
Police identified the suspect publicly as Abdul B., a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese background, and circulated photographs during the search. Prosecutors said he was known through Islamist circles and had previously attempted to join the Islamic State organization. Authorities described the incident as an Islamist terrorist attack, but the supplied account did not report a claim of responsibility from any group.
Investigators said the suspect had travelled to Lebanon in 2025 intending to reach Syria and join Islamic State. He was arrested there and later received a suspended sentence in Germany for preparing a serious violent act and publishing propaganda. Those prior facts informed the investigation but did not establish whether anyone helped plan the Berlin attack.
The violence interrupted a day in which large crowds had marched and danced through Berlin alongside about 80 floats. The city's annual Pride celebration began in 1979 and has become one of Europe's largest events advocating equal treatment and visibility for LGBTQ+ people. More than 2,200 officers had been deployed across Berlin to protect Pride and related gatherings.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Wegner condemned the attack and said the celebration's message of tolerance would be defended. The immediate questions were the suspect's location, motive, possible assistance and the precise sequence between the vehicle strike and stabbings. At the close of the event date, the manhunt and forensic investigation were continuing.
