Berlin police confirmed on Sunday that the suspect in a deadly van-ramming attack during the Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride event on Saturday was shot dead in a police operation. The incident has been officially classified as an “Islamist terrorist” attack.
According to Berlin’s Senate Department for Interior Affairs, the suspect was located at a garden allotment in the Spandau district on the western outskirts of the city around 6 p.m. local time. He allegedly charged at officers while armed with a stabbing weapon and was shot. Despite resuscitation efforts by firefighters, he died at the scene.
Germany’s federal public prosecutor’s office has taken over the investigation. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig stated that the attack is being treated as Islamist terrorism. The suspect, identified as Abdul B., a German citizen, was previously known to police for links to Islamist circles.
Judicial authorities revealed that the suspect had made multiple failed attempts to leave Germany and join the Islamic State (IS) militant group. He allegedly traveled to Lebanon via Turkey, where he contacted individuals he believed were IS members. He was sentenced to three months in prison by a Lebanese military court for “inciting religious and confessional conflict” and returned to Germany in November 2025, where he was arrested again at Berlin airport.
The attack resulted in one death and several injuries. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner called it “an attack on all of us” and ordered flags at city hall to be flown at half-staff. He stressed that the attack targeted “our liberal democracy, openness and freedom.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the “abhorrent event” and urged the public not to be intimidated. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described it as “an attack on our open society, our way of life and our ability to live together.”
Reactions across the political spectrum varied. CDU lawmakers called for tougher penalties and a review of citizenship rules. The far-right AfD described it as “a complete failure of the government’s security policies.” Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the SPD emphasized that CSD events would be defended.
Hundreds gathered at the Brandenburg Gate to observe a minute of silence and lay flowers in tribute to the victims. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner ordered flags at half-staff and called the attack an assault on the values of freedom, equal rights, and diversity.
Source: www.dw.com