Suspect in Berlin Pride attack killed by police after manhunt
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Police shot and killed the suspect in a deadly attack at Berlin's Pride celebration.
- The suspect, identified as Abdul Ballout, had a history of extremism and attempted to join ISIS.
- The attack, which killed one and injured 29, is being investigated as a potential act of Islamic terrorism.
Berlin police fatally shot a suspect after a manhunt, ending the search for the individual believed responsible for a deadly attack during the city's Pride celebrations. The suspect, identified as Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, died following a confrontation in a Berlin suburb on Sunday.
Authorities are investigating the incident as a possible act of Islamic terrorism. The attack occurred Saturday evening when a vehicle plowed into a crowd in Tiergarten park, near the Pride event, followed by a machete assault. The violence left one woman dead and injured at least 29 others. The Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, stated that "everything we see here points to us facing an Islamic terrorist attack."
Prosecutors revealed that Ballout had a history of radicalization and had previously attempted to join the Islamic State group. In 2025, he traveled to Lebanon with the intention of reaching Syria, where he was detained by Lebanese authorities and sentenced to three months for inciting religious conflict. Upon his return to Germany, he was arrested at Berlin airport.
Earlier in May, a juvenile court had convicted Ballout for preparing an act of violence endangering the state and spreading ISIS propaganda online, receiving a suspended sentence. The court had at the time deemed that the accused had distanced himself from extremist groups and posed no imminent threat, a decision the prosecution had appealed.
Everything we see here points to us facing an Islamic terrorist attack.
Originally published by La Naciรณn in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.