The suspect in the deadly attack near Berlin’s Pride festivities that left one person dead and 29 injured was shot and killed by police Sunday evening following a nearly 24-hour manhunt, authorities confirmed. Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, was located in a garden in Spandau, a Berlin suburb, around 6 p.m. local time. According to police, Ballout reportedly charged at officers with a sharp instrument, prompting them to open fire and kill him at the scene.

The attack took place late Saturday night in Tiergarten park, a few hundred meters from the Brandenburg Gate, where the closing party for Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride festival was being held. Police said a white van driven by Ballout struck a crowd on a path in the park before crashing into a tree. After the vehicle incident, Ballout allegedly attacked others with a machete. Authorities believe the assault was motivated by Islamist extremism.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that the attack occurred near a Pride closing event attended by thousands. While the parade and party were ongoing, the violence did not occur directly on the festival route or at the main event but nearby in the park, where the victims were likely a mixture of festival participants and others present in the area. Police confirmed that a woman was killed in the incident.

Ballout’s background, as outlined by prosecutors, included attempts to join the militant group Islamic State (IS). In 2025, he traveled to Lebanon with the intention of reaching Syria to join IS. There, he made contact with individuals he believed to be members of the organization. He was subsequently arrested by Lebanese authorities and sentenced to three months in prison on charges including incitement to religious and sectarian conflict. Upon completing his sentence, Ballout returned to Germany, where he was detained at Berlin airport.

In May, a Berlin juvenile court convicted Ballout of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state and of disseminating Islamic State propaganda on social media. He received a suspended sentence of one year and ten months in youth custody. The court took into account his prior detention in Lebanon and Germany, his confession, and apparent distancing from the militant group, concluding no immediate threat had materialized. Prosecutors had appealed the sentence, and Ballout had been released pending the appeal at the time of the attack.

The attack sparked a outpouring of grief and solidarity, with hundreds gathering Sunday afternoon near the Brandenburg Gate to mourn. Attendees left flowers, candles, rainbow flags, and signs bearing messages of love and resilience. Among them was Ashley Jump, a British national who had attended the Pride parade earlier in the day and returned to pay tribute, emphasizing the enduring presence of the LGBTQ+ community.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for unity and resilience in the wake of the attack, urging the public and Pride participants not to be intimidated. He stated the incident aimed to divide society and undermine freedoms. Authorities signaled the possibility of reviewing security measures at other major events in Germany, including upcoming Pride celebrations in other cities.

Berlin has a history of Islamist extremist attacks, including a 2016 truck attack at a Christmas market that killed 13 people and a stabbing at the city’s Holocaust Memorial last year that led to a 13-year prison sentence for the assailant. Following the Berlin incident, authorities in Amsterdam, set to host World Pride, said they were monitoring the security situation closely, balancing safety concerns with the importance of preserving the celebratory atmosphere.