Berlin [Germany], July 27 (ANI): The suspect in the fatal ramming attack at Berlin’s Pride event was shot dead during a police operation on Sunday, Berlin Police confirmed. A driver had struck a crowd near the city’s annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride event at Tiergarten Park on Saturday night, killing one person and injuring 17 others. Berlin police subsequently launched a major manhunt to locate the suspect.
In a post on X, Berlin Police said officers had located the suspect at a garden allotment in Spandau, on the western outskirts of the city, at around 6 p.m. local time. Police said the suspect charged at officers while carrying a stabbing weapon, following which the Special Operations Command (SEK) opened fire.
“At around 6 p.m., the suspect in yesterday’s attack in the Grosser Tiergarten was located in an allotment garden facility in #Spandau. According to current findings, he is said to have rushed toward our emergency forces with a stabbing weapon, after which police firearms were used by our SEK Berlin. Despite immediate resuscitation measures initiated by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene,” the police said in a statement.
According to earlier statements released by Berlin Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect was identified as 21-year-old Abdul B., who was known to law enforcement authorities and allegedly linked to the Islamist spectrum.
The operation followed a joint investigation that identified a possible location of the suspect at a garden allotment on Ruhlebener Strasse in the Spandau district. Authorities had earlier stated that one or more individuals may have fled the original attack scene in a vehicle, and investigations into possible accomplices are continuing.
The incident occurred when a van drove into a crowd at Tiergarten Park shortly after 10 p.m., triggering an evacuation and a large-scale emergency response. Despite security concerns, mourners later gathered near the site to pay tribute to the victims.
Following the attack, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz strongly condemned the incident, offering support to those affected and praising emergency personnel for their swift response, which he said may have prevented further casualties.
Merz described the ramming attack as an “abhorrent event” and said, “Our thoughts are with the victims of this Islamist terrorist attack. I wish those who sustained injuries a swift recovery.”
The Chancellor also expressed gratitude to emergency workers and police officers for “intervening as quickly as possible, which could well have prevented an even worse outcome last night.”
Addressing participants of Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride events across Germany, Merz urged people not to be intimidated by violent extremism.
“Let us not be intimidated by these crimes. They want to divide our society, they want to take the most important thing that we have: namely, our open society, our liberal society,” Merz said, according to DW.
“We will not allow this poison of terrorism … to spread in our society. We will stand together in this country,” he added.
Merz pledged that the German government would take decisive action to bring all those involved in the attack to justice as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner thanked Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and federal law enforcement agencies for their coordination with local authorities during the investigation.
Reflecting on the celebrations before the attack, Wegner said, “Yesterday Berlin had celebrated a great day. Berlin was colourful, Berlin showed how diverse and open this city is.”
He said the attack struck at the heart of Berlin’s identity, describing it as an assault on “our way of coexisting” and on “our liberal democracy, openness and freedom.”
“It was an attack on all of us,” Wegner said, announcing that flags at Berlin City Hall would be flown at half-mast in memory of the victims.
Wegner also praised the security arrangements during the Pride event, saying that “information channels worked” effectively between agencies. He commended CSD organisers for managing the crisis “professionally” and “without panic.” (ANI)
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