Berlin police shoot dead suspect in Islamist attack on Pride event that killed one

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Berlin attacker shot dead after Pride rampage kills woman, injures 29: Merz demands security review
ContinuationBerlin police shoot dead suspect in Islamist attack on Pride event that killed one
Berlin police have shot and killed the chief suspect in a deadly attack on the city's Pride event, which left one person dead and 29 others injured. The suspect, identified as Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese roots, was killed during a confrontation with police on Sunday evening.
The attack occurred on Saturday night when a white Citroen van rammed into a crowd near the Brandenburg Gate, where the annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade was taking place. The driver fled the scene on foot, prompting a large-scale manhunt involving heat-seeking cameras, sniffer dogs, and police helicopters.
Ballout was tracked down to an allotment garden complex in the Spandau suburb of Berlin. According to police, he ran towards officers with a knife and was shot multiple times. Attempts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed that the attack was an act of Islamist terrorism. "Everything we are seeing here indicates that we have experienced an Islamist attack," Dobrindt said. The suspect had a history of Islamist extremist activity and was known to authorities for his sympathies with the Islamic State group.
The attack has sent shockwaves through Berlin, with locals and visitors gathering at memorials and church services to mourn the victims. Organizers of the CSD parade described the attack as "an attempt to divide people and play them off against each other."
Berlin's state interior minister, Iris Spranger, thanked security services for their swift action. "I am grateful to the security authorities that they found the perpetrator so quickly," Spranger said on Sunday evening.
The suspect had previously been sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison, which was later switched to a non-custodial sentence due to a legal complaint. He was also known to have attempted to join the Islamic State group in the past.
The attack on the Pride event is the latest in a series of deadly car-ramming incidents in Germany. Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin on Saturday to celebrate one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ events.
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