Germany: Suspect shot dead after 'horrific act' near Berlin Pride

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed Sunday to punish the perpetrators of a car-ramming attack that killed one person and injured several others on the fringes of Berlin's Gay Pride parade.

Merz said in a statement that he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt would "push to make sure this horrific act is fully investigated and punished".

Suspect shot dead by police after manhunt

German police on Sunday shot and killed the suspect in what authorities described as a "terror attack" after a massive manhunt following a deadly vehicle-ramming and stabbing spree near Berlin's Pride celebrations.

The attack, which unfolded late Saturday at Tiergarten park near the Christopher Street Day (CSD) festivities, left at least one person dead and 29 others injured, several critically.

Authorities identified the suspect as Abdul B., a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese descent who was born in Berlin in 2005.

Suspect killed during police confrontation

Police launched an intensive search after the suspect allegedly drove a van into pedestrians before getting out and attacking victims with a machete.

On Sunday evening, officers tracked him to an allotment garden complex in Berlin's Spandau district.

According to police, members of Berlin's elite SEK tactical unit confronted the suspect at about 6 pm local time.

Investigators said he charged at officers while armed with a bladed weapon, prompting police to open fire.

Emergency responders attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Suspect had extremist history

German prosecutors said Abdul B. had long been known to security agencies because of his links to Islamist extremist circles in Berlin.

According to court records cited by German media and The Associated Press, he traveled to Lebanon in 2025 with the intention of reaching Syria to join the Islamic State group.

He was arrested in Lebanon and served three months in prison on charges including inciting religious and sectarian conflict.

After returning to Germany, a Berlin juvenile court sentenced him to one year and 10 months in prison, suspended pending appeal, after convicting him of preparing a serious act of violence and disseminating Islamic State propaganda.

Attack near Pride celebrations

The violence erupted shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday when the suspect allegedly drove a white van into pedestrians inside Tiergarten park, just outside the official Pride parade route.

After the collision, investigators said he exited the vehicle and attacked several people with a machete before fleeing.

Berlin's Christopher Street Day celebration is Germany's largest LGBTQ+ event, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants and visitors each year.

Authorities have not released the identity of the person killed, while the injured were transported to nearby hospitals.

Eyewitness describes panic

Witnesses said many people initially mistook the sounds of the attack for part of the festivities.

"There was a dull bang, and then a few more noises," one witness said.

"At first we couldn't understand the screams because of the music and the party atmosphere."

The witness said the seriousness of the situation became clear only after heavily armed police officers entered the park and ordered people to leave.

Security concerns

The attack is the latest in a series of deadly vehicle-ramming incidents in Germany in recent years, incidents that have intensified debate over national security, migration policy and extremism while boosting support for the country's far-right political parties.

German authorities are continuing their investigation into the motive and whether the suspect acted alone, though officials have described the attack as an act of Islamist terrorism.