Berlin police fatally shot the suspected Islamic extremist accused of driving a van into a crowd of people during the city’s pride festivities on July 25.
Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, was shot and killed during a confrontation with police on July 26, nearly 24 hours after a manhunt for him began.
“Around 6 p.m., the suspect in yesterday’s attack in the Großer Tiergarten was located in an allotment garden facility in Spandau,” a spokesperson for the Berlin Police revealed in an X post on Sunday.
Spandau is a borough just west of Berlin.
“According to current findings, he is said to have rushed toward our emergency forces with a stabbing weapon, after which police firearms were used by our SEK Berlin,” a police spokesperson added.
Police attempted to resuscitate the suspect after the gunfire, but Ballout died at the scene.
Prosecutors suggested Ballout planned to join the ISIS terrorist group.
“Everything we see here points to us dealing with an Islamic terror attack,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.
Police accused Ballout of ramming a van into a crowded section of Germany’s Tiergarten area on Saturday night, killing one person and injuring at least 29 others.
The Berlin Police and Public Prosecutor’s Office release a photo of suspect Abdul B., 21, wanted in connection with the deadly car ramming and stabbing attack near Berlin’s Tiergarten in Germany on July 25, 2026. (Berlin Police)
The attack occurred a few steps from a massive party that was supposed to close out the city’s CSD Berlin Pride, also called Christopher Street Day, one of Europe’s largest LGBT celebrations.
“We at Berliner CSD e. V. / Berlin Pride are deeply profoundly saddened by yesterday’s events,” the organizer of the event wrote in a Facebook post on July 26. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those affected by this terrible incident. The safety of our guests, staff and partners is our top priority.”
The festival is in contact with police and plans to issue a “more detailed statement” soon.
“Our sympathy goes out to all those affected,” the festival added.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the “brutal” attack for ending what was supposed to be a peaceful parade.
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Wegner said in a statement on social media on Saturday. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
Ryan Morgan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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