The suspect in the deadly attack at Berlin’s Pride celebrations was shot and killed by police during an operation at a garden complex in Spandau, authorities confirmed.
Berlin police said the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, was located at an allotment garden facility in Spandau at around 6 p.m. local time. According to police, he “rushed toward our emergency forces with a stabbing weapon, after which police firearms were used.” Despite immediate resuscitation efforts, he died at the scene.
The incident followed allegations that Ballout drove a rented vehicle into a crowd near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day Pride event, killing one woman and injuring 16 others. Some of the victims also suffered stab wounds.
Three of the injured remain in life-threatening condition.
Suspect Had History of Islamist Links
Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese family background, was previously known to authorities as being part of the “Islamist spectrum,” according to Berlin police. The public prosecutor’s office released details of his criminal record, which included multiple convictions.
In 2024, Ballout published prohibited Islamic State propaganda on Instagram and allegedly “developed the desire to join the armed struggle of ISIS,” prosecutors said. In May 2025, he travelled to Lebanon via Turkey with the intention of reaching Syria to join the Islamic State group. He was arrested in Lebanon and sentenced to three months in prison for incitement to religious and sectarian conflict.
After returning to Germany in November 2025, he was arrested at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. In May 2026, the Tiergarten District Court sentenced him to one year and 10 months’ imprisonment for “preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state,” although the sentence was deferred for six months.
He also had previous convictions for assault and robbery dating back to 2019 and 2020.
Details of the Attack
Investigators allege that Ballout used a rented white Citroën SpaceTourer delivery van to carry out the attack. He drove into Tiergarten Park near the Brandenburg Gate at around 10 p.m., striking multiple people attending the Pride event before the vehicle came to a stop after hitting a tree. Police said several victims also sustained stab wounds.
Organisers of Christopher Street Day cancelled the remainder of the celebrations, which typically attract around one million participants.
