A white van drove into a crowd approximately 100 meters from a Christopher Street Day celebration near Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin on Saturday night at around 10 pm, AP News reported.
Police spokesperson Florian Nath said the van drove through a park parallel to a main road, struck a number of people, and crashed into a tree before the driver fled on foot.
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CDU later added that the suspect is also believed to have attacked people with a blade-like weapon, possibly a machete, before fleeing the scene.
One woman died as a result of the attack, and 29 people were injured, with several in severe condition before police confirmed Sunday afternoon that none remained in life-threatening condition.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the attack as “heinous” on social media, stating, “This is an attack on our society,” as those struck were near a closing party celebrating LGBTQ+ rights.
Interior Minister Dobrindt identified the chief suspect on Sunday as Abdul B., 21, a German citizen born in Germany with Lebanese heritage on his mother’s side, who had been known to authorities for a “high number” of previous offenses and for being radicalized.
Prosecutors say Abdul B. shared propaganda for the so-called Islamic State militant group online and had recently made an unsuccessful attempt to join the group in Syria before distancing himself from it.
On Sunday evening, Berlin’s Senate Department for Interior Affairs confirmed that Abdul B. was shot dead by police in a garden allotment in Spandau, Berlin’s westernmost borough, ending the manhunt.
Dobrindt stated plainly, “Everything we see here indicates that this was an Islamist terror attack,” with Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig confirming the Federal Public Prosecutor General would take over the investigation.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Brandenburg Gate on Sunday to grieve and show solidarity, with one speaker declaring, “Yesterday was an attack on all of us, on all our identities, our existence, our community, and our democracy. But we will not let it defeat us.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, “This is an attack on our open society, our way of life and our ability to live together,” as the nation processed the scale of the violence.
The attack is expected to intensify political debate around migration and security ahead of key state elections in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany party currently holds strong polling numbers on those very issues.
