Berlin Pride Event Attacker Killed in Police Shootout, Officials Say

Manhunt Ends in Spandau Shootout After Berlin Pride Attack

A 24-hour manhunt across Germany’s capital came to a violent end on Sunday, July 26, 2026, when German police shot dead the suspect in an allotment garden complex in the Spandau district. The 21-year-old suspect, identified by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt as Abdul Ballout, was killed after he rushed toward members of the city’s special police unit, known as SEK, armed with a bladed weapon.

Around 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), the suspect involved in yesterday’s attack in Tiergarten was located at an allotment garden complex in Spandau, Berlin police wrote on social media. According to initial findings, he ran towards officers while armed with a bladed weapon; police … subsequently opened fire. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene.

Police officers opened fire when Ballout charged their position. Members of the Berlin Fire Department attempted immediate resuscitation at the scene, but he died from his wounds.

Casualties and Timeline of the Tiergarten Park Assault

The deadly sequence began on Saturday evening during the Christopher Street Day parade – as Berlin Pride is known locally. Authorities said Ballout drove a van into a crowd in Tiergarten Park, one of the largest urban parks in Germany, during the Pride festival’s closing party at around 10:00 p.m. local time.

Authorities reported that a van plowed through a crowd near Brandenburg Gate on Saturday night. He then allegedly attacked others with a weapon, believed to be a machete. The collision and subsequent weapon assaults resulted in one fatality and 29 injuries. Berlin’s fire department spokesman Dominik Pretz said Sunday morning that three of the injured people have life-threatening injuries, adding that eight are seriously injured.

Suspect Background and Radicalization History

Investigators identified the dead assailant as a German citizen of Lebanese background who was already known to authorities. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt noted earlier on Sunday that Ballout was known to authorities due to a “high number” of previous crimes and for being radicalised.

Everything we see here indicates that this was an Islamist terror attack, he said.

Police had identified the suspect as 21-year-old Abdul B., whom officials describe as a “radicalized” member of Islamist circles in Berlin. Alexander Dobrindt told a press conference on Sunday: Everything we are seeing here indicates that we have experienced an Islamist attack.

Political Repercussions and Condemnations Across Germany

National leaders offered swift denunciations of the violence while offering sharply different assessments of its causes and implications. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the incident “a heinous act” on X and said it was an attack on our society.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the incident as an assault on the country’s fundamental values. This act is an attack on our open society, on our way of life and on our ability to live together, he said, adding that he was, shaken and outraged.

The incident has also reignited debate over Germany’s security policies and counterterrorism measures. Senior politicians from the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) called for tougher measures in response. Günter Krings, the party’s spokesperson on interior affairs, argued that harsher penalties should be introduced if investigators determine the attack was motivated by Islamist extremism. Speaking to the Rheinische Post he also suggested that citizenship rules could be tightened. Fellow CDU lawmaker Alexander Throm urged lawmakers to move quickly on pending security legislation, which includes provisions for expanded digital investigative powers and retention of IP addresses for criminal investigations.

Reactions from the center-left SPD included Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), who focused on defending the values represented by Pride events. Christopher Street Day stands for the right of every person to live freely, he said. We will defend that.