Berlin Pride attack believed to be an act of Islamic terror, suspect on the run: German minister

A suspect with alleged ties to Germany's "Islamist scene" is on the run after allegedly plowing a van into a crowd near Berlin's Pride festival and attacking others with a machete in what officials believe was an Islamic terror attack that left one person dead and at least 29 others injured.

Police officers stand near a vehicle crashed into a tree after driving into a crowd near Berlin's annual Pride event, in Berlin, 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.

What we know

German authorities on Sunday launched an intensive manhunt for Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots whom officials say may be armed and dangerous. "Everything we see here points to us dealing with an Islamic terror attack," German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.

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. UPDATE 13:40: German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sunday morning that at least one person was killed and 29 people were injured, some seriously, in what he said is believed to have been an “Islamist terror attack” at the Berlin Pride Parade on Saturday evening.

Tragedy struck the annual Christopher Street Day event in the German capital, one of the largest LGBTQ pride parades in Europe, with a white van being driven into a crowd in the Tiergarten area of the city at around 10 pm, leaving at least one dead and 29 injured.

The details

One person was killed and 16 others were injured after the van crashed into a crowd near the parade route. Dobrindt said the suspect was born in Germany but is of Lebanese descent, with his mother naturalised in the country in 2002. State Department had specifically warned in 2024 that ISIS had called on supporters to attack Pride events in Europe. Vehicle terror attacks have previously been used by jihadists in Berlin, including the Christmas market attack in 2016, carried out by a Tunisian asylum seeker, who stole a truck and rammed it into a crowd of revellers, killing 13 and injuring around 70.

Reactions

Police spokesman Florian Nath earlier said the suspect was known to investigators because of his alleged ties to Islamic groups in Berlin. The Bild newspaper identified the suspect as “Abdul Ballut”, who they reported was born in Germany but came from a Lebanese family. German paper of record Die Welt reported that Abdul was previously identified as a threat by police and had been in juvenile detention as recently as May for having attempted to incite or threaten a terror attack.

What to watch

After being released in May, Abdul was reportedly put on probation and was instructed to attend de-radicalisation counselling sessions, the third of which was scheduled for Monday.