Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Sunday called the assault on Berlin’s Christopher Street Day parade that left one person dead and dozens injured an “Islamist terrorist attack.”
Speaking at the crime scene in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, Dobrindt told journalists: “Everything we have seen so far indicates that we are dealing with an Islamist terrorist attack. We know that the suspect, Abdul Ballout, is on the run.”
“This is a crucial point, because it means all police forces are engaged in a major manhunt,” he added.
Police have issued an arrest warrant for Ballout, a 21-year-old German of Lebanese descent. Dobrindt said authorities are searching not only in the German capital, “but also at train stations, airports and Germany’s borders.”
According to the minister, the suspect drove a van into the crowd on a path through Tiergarten park near the main Pride venue late Saturday before “allegedly” attacking people with a bladed weapon, “believed to be a machete,” seriously injuring several of them.
Dobrindt confirmed details reported overnight that one woman was killed and 29 people injured, with some in serious or life-threatening condition.
He said the suspect “had previously come to the attention of authorities because of numerous criminal offenses, his radicalization, and his association with the Islamist scene.”
According to Dobrindt, the suspect’s radicalization had previously resulted in a conviction. According to a report by WELT (like POLITICO, part of the Axel Springer group), the suspect had been classified as a security threat and sentenced under the German Criminal Code for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state.
WELT also reported that a court ordered Ballout to attend counseling sessions as part of a de-radicalization and extremism-prevention program.
Meanwhile, the manhunt continued. Police told POLITICO that officers were searching train stations across Berlin, including Anhalter Bahnhof near the scene of the attack. A police spokeswoman said they were searching for “at least one” suspect.
Dobrindt said it could not be ruled out that “such horrific terrorist attacks could inspire copycats,” although he said the risk was low. He advised Germany’s federal states to strengthen security measures for similar events.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the attack, and several European heads of state expressed their condolences.
Merz and several members of his Cabinet attended a memorial service later Sunday. Ahead of the service, Merz told journalists: “These attacks have only one purpose. They seek to divide our society. They seek to take away what is most precious to us: our openness and our freedom.”
He added: “We will not allow this poison of terrorism, this poison directed against our freedom, to spread farther through our society.”
German minister calls deadly Berlin Pride assault ‘Islamist terrorist attack’
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