German authorities have identified the suspect wanted over the van ramming near Berlin’s Pride festival that killed one person and injured at least 16 others, as a major manhunt continues.
Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Abdul B, who is described as slim, approximately 1.90m (6ft 3in) tall, with black hair.
He was last seen wearing a black hoodie and white bottoms. The public has been warned not to approach him as he may be armed and dangerous.
Police and prosecutors said the suspect is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle before one or more people left the vehicle.
Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added.
Police had said earlier that they had identified a suspect who has ties to Islamic groups in the German capital.
‘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.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the incident late Saturday evening as ‘an attack on our society.’
The attack unfolded near the city’s annual Pride celebrations on Saturday evening, triggering a major emergency response and prompting authorities to launch a large-scale manhunt.
Police and prosecutors on Sunday issued a wanted notice for 21-year-old Abdul B, asking for the public’s help in tracing him
Pictured: Police walk next to a vehicle which crashed into a crowd near Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride parade on Saturday
Pictured: Police and security personnel work near the scene where several people were injured on the sideline of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade
Police have not yet disclosed a motive but are investigating the incident as a suspected extremist attack.
Authorities continue to appeal for witnesses and are urging anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts to contact police immediately while avoiding any direct confrontation.
Nath added that investigators had no information on ‘his specific motives.’
According to police, a white van drove into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m. and hit several people before colliding with a tree.
The closing party at the Pride festival, known as Christopher Street Day, was ongoing nearby at the time, following a parade with some 80 trucks that had made its way through downtown Berlin earlier in the day.
Police said a woman was killed. Berlin’s fire service said that three people sustained life-threatening injuries, another eight were seriously injured and five had slight injuries.
Firefighters, ambulances, as well as other emergency services were at the park attending to victims. A helicopter landing pad was situated near the Reichstag.
Julian Miethig, who had attended the LGBTQ+ party, said he had just wanted to go to an afterparty when he heard from a friend that ‘something bad happened’.
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.
Meanwhile, Christian Gaebler, Berlin’s Senator for Urban Development, has warned against speculating about the incident.
He insisted it was too early to say if there was a motive behind the crash. ‘It didn’t even happen at the event itself, but actually in the Tiergarten,’ he said.
People wrapped in security blankets hug each other near the scene where several people were injured on the sideline of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade in Berlin
The driver of the van ploughed into a crowd of people near Berlin’s Pride celebrations on Saturday evening in a ‘brutal attack’
Pictured: The wrecked vehicle used in the crime as the area has been cordoned off
Pictured: Police officers work on the site, after the annual Berlin’s Christopher Street Day Pride parade was called off
The Pride event next to the Brandenburg Gate was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted.
‘What an abhorrent act in Berlin,’ Merz wrote in a post on X. He added that Germany loves freedom, ‘and we will preserve and defend that.’
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin to celebrate on Saturday, though it’s unclear how many were still at the festival by late evening.
It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
The word ‘Evacuation’ was displayed in bright colours on a large screen near the Brandenburg Gate.
People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the Tiergarten park, with an Instagram post instructing them to leave in an ‘orderly manner’.
‘Please avoid the Victory Column and the Tiergarten. Leave the area in the direction of the main train station,’ the post read.
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city, dancing, and cheering as around 80 floats participated in the parade.
