Berlin Pride Attack: It’s a Whole Story in 60 Seconds

Sun Sep 06 2026 08:55:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A van rammed into Berlin’s Pride parade, killing one and wounding 29, police say it was an Islamist terror attack.

At 10 p.m. on Saturday night, a white van collided with Berlin’s Tiergarten park Pride crowd, killing one woman and injuring dozens. Police later found the vehicle crashed into a tree and shot the suspect, 21‑year‑old Abdul Ballout, in a police operation in Spandau. Officials say the attack was likely an Islamist terror act linked to Ballout’s previous criminal and extremist record. European leaders condemned the violence and called for solidarity.

In the early hours of July 26, a white van crashed into the throng of people celebrating Berlin’s Pride event in Tiergarten park, near the Brandenburg Gate.

One woman was killed and at least 29 others were wounded – some even with a blade that officials suspect was a machete. Police say the attack was an Islamist terror act and that the driver, 21‑year‑old Abdul Ballout, was shot dead during a shoot‑out in Spandau.

Ballout was previously arrested in Lebanon for incitement of religious conflict, and he’d been on a watch list in Germany for trying to join the Islamic State. He had been sentenced in May for preparing a serious act of violence and was under police supervision.

The incident prompted the event to be cancelled. Organisers called the crowd to evacuate and projected the word “evacuation” on stage.

European leaders rushed to condemn the attack, from Ursula von der Leyen’s “prayers for the victims” to the UK defence secretary Wes Streeting calling it a “horrific disaster.”