Berlin Pride parade attacker killed by police

Berlin police fatally shot a 21-year-old suspect in a car ramming attack that killed one person and injured 29 during the city's Pride parade. The suspect, identified as Abdul Ballout, was killed during a police operation in a small garden in western Berlin.

Ballout had been on the radar of German security services as a dangerous Islamist extremist. He was reportedly undergoing de-radicalization counseling at the time of the attack. Police located Ballout hiding in a shed in his father's garden in the Spandau district. When officers moved to arrest him, he allegedly attacked them with a sharp weapon, prompting police to open fire. Ballout succumbed to his injuries.

German authorities have officially classified the incident as an "Islamist terrorist attack." Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged citizens not to be intimidated, emphasizing that terrorists aim to divide society and undermine Germany's cherished values of freedom and openness. Ballout, born in Berlin in 2005 to Lebanese parents, had a history of violent offenses dating back to his teenage years. He first came to law enforcement's attention at age 14 for assaulting a classmate.

In recent years, Ballout's radicalization deepened. He was identified as a supporter of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group. Reports indicate he was arrested in Lebanon last year while attempting to join IS and served a three-month sentence there for "inciting religious conflict." Upon his return to Germany in November, he was detained on suspicion of preparing a violent crime that posed a significant threat to national security. Berlin prosecutors charged him with preparing a violent crime that seriously endangered the state, seeking a three-year prison sentence.

In May, a Berlin court sentenced Ballout to one year and ten months of "preparatory probation" under Germany's juvenile justice system, releasing him. As part of this probation, he was required to undergo de-radicalization counseling with the "Violence Prevention Network" (VPN), a prominent German organization. However, Ballout had only completed two preliminary interviews before his arrest. Thomas Mücke, CEO of VPN, told Der Spiegel that staff found Ballout's responses vague and overly accommodating, raising suspicions that he was not genuinely remorseful. VPN had not yet decided whether to formally accept him into their program and detected no signs that he was planning an imminent attack.

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Terrorists' goal is to tear society apart and take away Germany's most cherished way of life: a free and open society.