Berlin Pride attack: what we know

A van and machete attack on Christopher Street Day has left one woman dead and 29 people injured. The suspect has been shot dead by police. These are the confirmed facts.

The attack

• The attack happened shortly before 10pm on Saturday 25 July, during the closing celebrations of Christopher Street Day, Berlin's Pride and one of the largest LGBTQ+ events in Europe.
• A white van was driven into people in Tiergarten park, next to the parade route and close to the closing party at the Brandenburg Gate, striking and running over several people before crashing into a tree.
• The attacker then left the vehicle and attacked further people with a bladed weapon, believed to be a machete.
• The attack took place outside the secured festival area; many victims were on their way to or from the celebrations.
• The main event was called off at around 10.15pm and crowds were told to leave and avoid routes through the park.

The victims

• One woman was killed at the scene. Her identity has not yet been released.
• 29 people were injured, a figure revised up from the initial 16.
• Three people are in a critical condition and several others are seriously injured.
• Berlin opened a crisis hotline for anyone unable to reach friends or family who attended.

The attacker

• Police named the suspect as Abdul B., 21, a German citizen of Lebanese background born in Berlin in 2005.
• He was shot dead by police in the Spandau district at around 6pm on Sunday, after a manhunt of nearly 24 hours. Police say he ran at officers with a bladed weapon.
• He was already known to the authorities. Prosecutors say he had previously tried to travel to Syria to join the so called Islamic State.
• In May this year he was convicted of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state and of spreading IS propaganda, receiving a suspended youth sentence of one year and ten months. Prosecutors were appealing the sentence.
• He had been released from a young offenders' institution in May 2026, weeks before the attack.

The official response

• Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt says all the evidence points to an Islamist terror attack and described the suspect as a radicalised member of Islamist circles in Berlin.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it a heinous crime and an attack on German society, promising the fullest possible investigation.
• Berlin mayor Kai Wegner described a brutal attack on a free and cosmopolitan city following a peaceful parade.
• More than 2,200 police officers had been on duty in Berlin to protect Pride events on Saturday.

What we don't yet know

• The identity of the woman who was killed.
• Whether the attacker acted entirely alone; investigators have not yet ruled out others being involved.
• The full account of his motive and planning, which will now be established through the investigation rather than a trial, as the suspect is dead.

The context

• Christopher Street Day is named after the New York street where the Stonewall uprising began, and hundreds of thousands attend the Berlin event each year.
• Reported queerphobic hate crimes in Germany have risen almost tenfold since 2010, according to federal police, with campaigners saying most incidents go unreported.

Berlin police continue to appeal for witnesses and for any photos or video from Saturday night.