Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Manhunt launched after deadly van ramming during the Pride event in central Berlin
- Interior minister Dobrindt says incident being treated as ‘Islamist terrorist attack’
- One person was killed, 29 others injured
- Several people are in a life-threatening condition in hospital
- Police name suspect as 21-year-old Abdul B.
- Police said the suspect is known for links to the Islamist scene
- The Pride parade, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, is known as Christopher Street Day in Germany
- The remaining Pride events were called off
Follow DW’s coverage for the latest developments on the manhunt and reaction to Saturday night’s attack.
Skip next section Berlin mayor praises CSD security and organizers07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Berlin mayor praises CSD security and organizers
Wegner thanked police and emergency crews for immediately reporting to the scene of the attack, saying “information channels worked.”
He also praised the organizers of Christopher Street Day, saying they had responded “professionally” and “without panic” to the incident.
He stressed that there had been “high security” at Berlin CSD, and the suspect did not manage to attack the main trajectory of the parade, as police had secured the area.
“However, just 400 meters [1312 feet] away, there were still Christopher Street Day attendees — many people who had left the event or were on their way there, as well as ordinary Berliners and visitors to our city,” Wegner said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmdHSkip next section Berlin mayor says car ramming ‘attack on all of us’07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Berlin mayor says car ramming ‘attack on all of us’
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner thanked Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and federal authorities for close cooperation with the German capital in investigating Saturday’s car ramming attack.
“Yesterday Berlin had celebrated a great day. Berlin was colorful, Berlin showed how diverse and open this city is,” Wegner said.
The mayor said that city hall would fly its flags at half-mast in mourning.
“It was an attack on all of us,” Wegner said.
The capital’s mayor said that the ramming was an attack on “our way of coexisting” and on “our liberal democracy, openness and freedom.”
He said that a funeral service would begin at St. Mary’s Church in central Berlin at 4:30 p.m. local time (1430 UTC) which would then likely proceed to the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmdGSkip next section Suspect subject of previous conviction — Dobrindt07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Suspect subject of previous conviction — Dobrindt
Interior Minister Dobrindt said that the suspect in the car ramming attack had been convicted by a Berlin court in the past.
The minister said that he had been handed a prison sentence of one year and 10 months, which was then suspended on probation.
He said that the general prosecutor’s office had filed an objection against the suspension of the sentence.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmdASkip next section What does the Interior Ministry know so far about the suspect?07/26/2026July 26, 2026
What does the Interior Ministry know so far about the suspect?
Interior Minister Dobrindt said that the suspect had used a cutting weapon — presumably a machete — to attack more passersby after the car ramming, causing additional severe injuries.
He said the attacker had been known to authorities, adding he had committed several criminal acts.
The suspect had gone through “radicalization” and belonged to the “Islamist scene,” Dobrindt said.
The suspect was born in Germany in 2005, had German citizenship at birth and a Lebanese family background, Dobrindt said.
His mother acquired German citizenship just years before his birth, in 2002.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Hma1Skip next section Dobrindt says Berlin car ramming was likely ‘Islamist terrorist attack’07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Dobrindt says Berlin car ramming was likely ‘Islamist terrorist attack’
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt spoke at the scene of Saturday night’s car ramming attack and said that authorities believed it had an Islamist motive.
“Everything we see here points to an Islamist terrorist attack,” Dobrindt said.
He said that the suspect is still at large, adding that authorities had dispatched large deployments of police to Berlin and to train stations, airports and borders around the country.
Dobrindt said that authorities knew of some 29 people who had been injured in the attack, some of them severely injured, and one person had been killed.
Previous estimates put the number of injured at 16.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmZvSkip next section WATCH LIVE — Memorial service taking place at Pariser Platz, further updates expected07/26/2026July 26, 2026
WATCH LIVE — Memorial service taking place at Pariser Platz, further updates expected
Watch below for live coverage following the van ramming attack at the Berlin Pride event that killed one and left several others injured.
A memorial service is taking place at Pariser Platz, right in front of the Brandenburg Gate. We’re also expecting updates From German authorities in a short while. Watch our live coverage below.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmSYSkip next section Report: Berlin Pride suspect an ‘Islamic State’ supporter07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Report: Berlin Pride suspect an ‘Islamic State’ supporter
The chief suspect in a deadly attack near Berlin’s Pride parade on Saturday night is a supporter of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group, German media has reported.
The Bild and Spiegel news sites said the 21-year-old man, named by police as Abdul B, was previously convicted for related offences.
The media outlets said B. last year travelled to the Middle East in a failed attempt to join IS.
He was then convicted in Germany of “preparing a serious act of subversive violence,” the papers report.
German police have not confirmed the reports, but are due to issue an updated statement on the attack later on Sunday.
IS has been linked to several attacks in Europe over the past decade and claimed responsibility for the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 13 people.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmT0Skip next section Witnesses: How Berlin pride turned into a ‘dark day’07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Witnesses: How Berlin pride turned into a ‘dark day’
DW editor Sebastian Kröck was 50 meters from the spot where the van, which rammed attendees of the Berlin Pride event, crashed into a tree in the Tiergarten.
Kröck described the scene, which saw one person killed and 16 others injured, as “horrific.”
“We suddenly saw injured, bleeding people running towards us, screaming,” he told DW.
Hundreds of thousands of people had converged on central Berlin for the annual parade, in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.
The colorful occasion culminated with a concert in the evening near the Brandenburg Gate, including a performance by German singer Sarah Connor.
The attack unfolded just before 10 p.m. local time (20:00 UTC/GMT), in what another attendee, Julian Miethig, described as a “dark day for the community.”
Fortunately, Miethig was outside the immediate area when he heard from a friend that “something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire trucks, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmRtSkip next section WATCH: Security expert Raphael Bossong assesses the Berlin Pride attack07/26/2026July 26, 2026
WATCH: Security expert Raphael Bossong assesses the Berlin Pride attack
The attack on the Berlin Pride is far from the first of its kind, says Raphael Bossong of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Over the last decade, Europe has seen a string of similar attacks.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HmJTSkip next section Vehicle attacks ‘a successful strategy’ for Islamist groups, warns expert07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Vehicle attacks ‘a successful strategy’ for Islamist groups, warns expert
Islamist groups have stumbled upon a “successful strategy” of plowing vehicles into the public at major events across Europe, Rafael Bossong, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), said.
“This is already a pattern — [the Berlin Pride attack was] the eighth or ninth attack of this kind in Europe,” Bossong told DW.
He cited the most deadly atrocity, in July 2016, when a truck rammed into a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more.
Bossong warned that there are over 9,000 Islamist radicals with apparent violent inclinations in Germany.
Although authorities are doing a better job of monitoring and foiling threats, he said that the Berlin attack appeared to have been carried out by “a minor figure, with a prior criminal record, but no clear affiliation [to Islamist terrorism] and no clear online warning that he was preparing to attack.”
Asked how the suspect was able to drive into Berlin’s Tiergarten so easily despite barriers being installed, Bossong said:
“It depends on the time and locality. In this case, Tiergarten is a large area, the ceremony was closing, so maybe the traffic restrictions had been relaxed.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmHDSkip next section Road blockades failed to stop Berlin attack, says DW reporter07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Road blockades failed to stop Berlin attack, says DW reporter
DW’s Jules Giessler is reporting live from Berlin’s Tiergarten, where police continue their investigation into Saturday night’s deadly attack.
Giessler said questions are being asked about how the suspect was able to drive into the area so easily.
“The whole area is still cordoned off. Police are trying to find out how he entered the Tiergarten and managed to drive at full speed because the area was cordoned off and yesterday there were road blockades,” she said.
Germany has introduced barriers and other crowd protection infrastructure at major events following similar vehicle ramming atrocities.
Giessler said residents and Pride attendees were returning to the scene on Sunday to pay their respects.
“More and more people are coming here, laying down flowers, candles and the rainbow flag — one of the symbols of the queer community.”
“You can clearly see that people are shocked, sad — some crying — and asking how such a joyful event could turn into such a tragedy,” Giessler added.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmGISkip next section Police briefing expected later on Sunday07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Police briefing expected later on Sunday
German police had been expected to provide updates on Sunday morning following the van ramming at the Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride parade in Berlin. That press briefing is now expected to take place later in the day.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HmEOSkip next section WATCH: DW’s recap of Berlin Pride attack07/26/2026July 26, 2026
WATCH: DW’s recap of Berlin Pride attack
Berlin’s Pride, or Christopher Street Day (CSD) events, to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community were rocked by a deadly van ramming attack on Saturday night.
The latest:
- One person — a woman — was killed.
- Sixteen people were injured — three of them are in a life-threatening condition.
- Some of the injuries include stab wounds, according to authorities
- The attack happened in Berlin Tiergarten, near the Brandenburg Gate
- A 21-year-old suspect, Abdul B., has been identified
- B. reportedly has links to radical Islam and was released from juvenile custody in May.
- A nationwide manhunt has been launched and alerts sent to border authorities
- Local media reported an accomplice may have been involved
Watch our latest video on the atrocity:
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HmCaSkip next section Berlin Pride atrocity an attack on ‘entire country,’ says lawmaker07/26/2026July 26, 2026
Berlin Pride atrocity an attack on ‘entire country,’ says lawmaker
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he was “deeply shaken” by the Berlin Pride car ramming, calling it a “heinous attack on people celebrating peacefully.”
“My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone who had to witness this act,” Dobrindt said in a statement.
“We will do everything in our power to quickly solve this terrible crime and the circumstances behind it and to punish the perpetrators.”
Britta Hasselmann, the parliamentary group leader for the environmentally-friendly Green Party, labeled the ramming “an attack on the entire country, on our free and liberal constitutional state and everything that defines it.”
One of the hosts of the Pride event, presenter and comedienne Ricarda Hofmann, described being “at a loss for words” following the atrocity.
“I was at CSD today,” Hofmann wrote on social media, referring to Christopher Street Day, the name used in Germany to mark Pride events.
“Not just as a presenter, but as part of a community that comes together to be visible. To celebrate love. To stand up for one another.”
Pride cohost Jochen Schropp, an actor and presenter, lamented how the day turned into a nightmare.
“It was such a beautiful day, full of love. (…) It was truly indescribable. And then something like this happens. I hope we somehow get through this as a community,” he wrote on Instagram.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Hm7hSkip next section More on the search for Berlin Pride attacker07/26/2026July 26, 2026
More on the search for Berlin Pride attacker
The suspect in the Berlin Pride ramming is known to police and was only released from juvenile detention in May, DPA news agency reported.
Bild newspaper said state security has “extensive information” on 21-year-old Abdul B, related to “religious ideology” and links to radical Islam.
Bild said police commandos stormed a property in Berlin’s Schöneberg district overnight, but left without making arrests.
The mass circulation daily also reported that Abdul B. likely rented the white Citroen SpaceTourer used in the attack in his own name.
Police later confirmed that a private, not rented, vehicle was used.
Meanwhile, the manhunt has been extended to Germany’s borders, Bild said.
The newspaper said authorities in the neighboring Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark have been alerted.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Hm6uShow more posts
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