A van slammed into people gathered for Berlin’s famed LGBTQ+ event on Saturday night (July 25, 2026), killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to call off the celebrations and a concert in the German capital hours after they had begun.
Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims.
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“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” police officer Florian Nath said on a short video released on the Berlin police account on X.
Suspect had ties to Islamic ‘circles’ in German capital
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the incident on late Saturday evening (July 25, 2026) as “an attack on our society”.
Police and prosecutors asked for help in finding the 21-year-old suspect, whom they identified as Abdul B. They said he is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle and that one or more people apparently then left that vehicle. Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added.
The 21-year-old suspect identified by police as Abdul B. in a public call for his arrest after a vehicle rammed down the crowd near Berlin’s Pride CSD celebrations on Saturday evening is in this undated handout photo released by Polizei Berlin on July 26, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Sunday’s notice warned the public to avoid “direct contact” with the suspect, saying that he may be armed and dangerous.
Police had said earlier that they had identified a suspect who has ties to Islamic groups in the German capital.
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“The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” police spokesperson Florian Nath said.
Nath added that investigators had no information on “his specific motives”.
White van hit people in Tiergarten park
According to police, a white van had driven into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m., which is next to the route that the pride march had passed along earlier, and hit several people before colliding with a tree. Police could not say how many officers had been deployed to the scene but that it was “definitely a lot of police.”
Overall, more than 2,200 police officers have been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning (July 25, 2026) to protect the pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Mr. Wegner said. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
Meanwhile, authorities called on possible witnesses to come forward and share with police any video or photos they might have taken at the scene of the attack. The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members.
Iconic pride event called off
The pride event in front of the city’s Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the park.
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade.
Julian Miethig, who had attended the LGBTQ+ party at the Brandenburg Gate earlier, said he had just wanted to go to an afterparty 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.”
He said he went to Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened at Berlin’s pride celebrations. “It’s a dark day for the community,” he said.
Published – July 26, 2026 07:11 am IST
