On the evening of 25 July 2026, during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (the city’s main Pride event), a van was driven into a crowd of pedestrians in the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m.
What happened
- The driver, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout (German citizen of Lebanese background), rammed a white van into people near the Pride celebrations.
- He then got out and attacked people with a bladed weapon (described in reports as a machete).
- One woman was killed. Around 29 people were injured, some critically.
- The Pride event and related concert were cancelled and the area evacuated.
The suspect
- Ballout was already known to German authorities. He had prior convictions, including for attempting to join the Islamic State, and had shared ISIS propaganda.
- He had been released from prison in May 2026.
- After the attack he fled. Police launched a large manhunt.
- On 26 July he was located in the Spandau district of Berlin. He attacked officers with a blade and was shot dead by police.
German officials, including Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, have described the attack as an Islamist terrorist attack.
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