Merz: Don't let extremists divide us after CSD attack

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged citizens not to be intimidated by acts of violence, following an attack at a Christopher Street Day (CSD) event in Berlin. Merz stated that such incidents are designed to divide society and strip away its core values of openness and freedom.

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These acts have only one purpose: they want to divide our society, they want to take away the most important thing we have, namely our openness and our freedom.

"These acts have only one purpose: they want to divide our society, they want to take away the most important thing we have, namely our openness and our freedom," Merz said in Berlin shortly before a memorial service. He directly addressed participants of the CSD events across Germany, encouraging them to remain steadfast.

"I want to tell the participants of the CSD here in Berlin and throughout Germany: do not let yourselves, let us not be intimidated," he declared. Merz emphasized that perpetrators and extremists have no place in the heart of German society. "We are more, we are stronger," he asserted, aiming to project a message of collective strength and resolve.

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do not let yourselves, let us not be intimidated.

The attack, which occurred late Saturday evening, tragically claimed the life of one woman and left 29 people with injuries, some severe. Authorities are actively searching for the suspected perpetrator, identified as Abdul B. Investigators are treating the incident as an Islamist terrorist attack, underscoring the serious nature of the threat.

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We are more, we are stronger.