Suspect in Berlin Pride March Attack, Linked to Islamic State, Killed by Police

Berlin police have killed Abdul Ballout, the primary suspect in a violent attack that occurred during the city's Pride March. The incident left one woman dead and 29 others injured. Ballout, 21, was shot by special forces after he approached officers with a stabbing weapon, according to police spokesperson Florian Nath.

Ballout, a German national with Lebanese roots, had a history of extremist sympathies and a criminal record. Prosecutors stated that his leanings toward the Islamic State group led him to travel to Lebanon in 2025 with the intention of joining the militant organization in Syria. He was arrested in Lebanon last year and received a three-month sentence from a military court for offenses including inciting religious and sectarian conflict.

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The suspect ran towards our officers with a stabbing weapon. For that reason, the service weapon was used.

Upon his return to Germany, Ballout was arrested at Berlin airport. In May, a juvenile court in Berlin convicted him of preparing an act of violence endangering the state and publishing Islamic State propaganda on Instagram. Prosecutors appealed the court's decision to impose a suspended sentence of one year and 10 months in youth custody, arguing that the court had not sufficiently considered the severity of his actions.

The court had taken into account Ballout's pre-trial detention in both Germany and Lebanon, his confession, and his apparent distancing from the group. However, prosecutors believed these factors did not justify the suspended sentence, especially as a real threat had not materialized. Ballout was released pending the appeal, a decision that has now been overshadowed by the fatal encounter with police.

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The suspect suffered injuries so severe that, although he could be resuscitated by emergency doctors, he died later at the scene.