A van ploughed into a crowd near Berlin's Pride festivities on Saturday night with killing one woman and injuring 16 people also three of them critically the police said.
The vehicle veered into Tiergarten park with close to the Pride march route and hitting pedestrians before crashing into a tree. Police said the van was found empty and a large manhunt involving over 2,200 officers including reinforcements from other German states is now underway across the capital.
A police spokesperson said the suspect is believed to be linked to Berlin's "Islamist scene" but has not yet been arrested. It remains unclear if others were involved.
The attack forced organisers to cut short one of Europe's largest Pride events, known as Christopher Street Day (CSD) which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The evening's concert at the Brandenburg Gate was halted and attendees were urged to avoid the park.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner called it an attack on the city's "free and cosmopolitan society," saying the celebration of tolerance had been struck in the most brutal manner. He vowed that Berliners would not let their way of life be taken from them.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the incident as a horrific act and pledged alongside Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to ensure it is fully investigated and punished.
One attendee described it as one of the worst days for Berlin's queer community saying he never expected to witness such an event.
Berlin's CSD, first held in 1979 is Germany's oldest Pride celebration named after New York's Christopher Street, birthplace of the 1969 Stonewall riots that sparked the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. This year's parade carried the theme "Taking a stand is hot" reflecting rising hostility toward queer people in Germany.
The attack adds to a troubling pattern of vehicle assaults at German public gatherings. In 2016, a truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market killed 12 people. In 2024, a car rammed through a Magdeburg market killing two. Earlier this year two people died in a similar attack in Leipzig.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing, with evidence from the scene being examined as the search for the attacker continues citywide.
