One person dead, multiple injured after car-ramming in Berlin Pride; manhunt underway for 'Islamist suspect'
Police have identified a suspect linked to Berlin's "Islamist scene," though no arrest has been made
A vehicle drove into a crowd near Berlin's Christopher Street Day Pride celebrations Saturday night, killing one person and injuring at least 16 others. Police said the vehicle drove into the city's central Tiergarten park close to the Brandenburg Gate around 10 PM, injuring several people before coming to a stop after hitting a tree. A police spokesperson said, "It was empty, which is why we are currently working intensively to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators."
A police spokesperson said, "We have now identified a suspected perpetrator. Measures against this suspected perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, are underway. However, this suspected perpetrator is known to the police as a member of the Islamist scene here in Berlin." Police described the vehicle as a white car, minivan or minibus.
Police spokesperson Florian Nath said a woman had died at the scene, without providing further details. He said more than 2,200 personnel were involved in the police response, including officers from Hamburg and other federal states. Nath said, "We are now piecing together the facts based on the evidence found at the scene. The search radius covers the entire city."
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According to a fire brigade spokesperson, eight people had serious injuries, three of them in life-threatening condition.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, who visited the scene, said on X, "After a peaceful and colorful CSD, the assembly for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way. Berlin is the city of freedom, and our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way today." He told reporters, "We will not allow our way of life and our way of living together to be taken from us." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned what he called a "horrific act," saying in a statement that he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt would ensure "this horrific act is fully investigated and punished."
Germany has experienced a series of vehicle-ramming attacks in recent years, including the 2016 Breitscheidplatz Christmas market attack that killed 12 people, the 2024 Magdeburg Christmas market attack that killed six, and a Leipzig attack in May that killed two.