Abdul Ballout, the 21-year-old German-Lebanese suspect accused of driving a van into crowds at Berlin’s Pride celebrations, has been shot and killed by police during an operation at a garden complex, as the city’s Interior Minister confirmed the number of injured had risen to 29.
The suspect behind Saturday’s attack on Berlin’s Pride parade has been shot and killed by police, German media reported on Sunday. Abdul Ballout, 21, is accused of ramming a van into crowds gathered for the city’s Christopher Street Day celebrations, killing one person and injuring 29 others. Police had launched a large-scale manhunt for the German-Lebanese national, who had previously attempted to join the Islamic State group, before he was tracked down and killed during an operation at a garden complex.
Update on casualties
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the number of people injured in the attack had risen from 16 to 29, with three victims suffering life-threatening injuries. Describing the nature of the attack, Dobrindt said the suspect “rammed into a crowd with a car” before “then attacked the crowd with some type of blade, it might have been a machete, and also severely injured those people.” He added: “Everything we are seeing here indicates that we have experienced an Islamist attack,” and warned: “We cannot rule out the possibility that further terrorist attacks might take place.”
Background on the suspect
According to Dobrindt, Abdul B was born in Germany in 2005 and has a Lebanese background; his mother became a naturalised German citizen in 2002. Police sources cited by German media said he had travelled to Lebanon in 2025 in an unsuccessful attempt to join the Islamic State group, and was subsequently arrested there before being returned to Germany as a German citizen, according to Bild.
He had remained in pre-trial detention until May 2026, when he was ordered to take part in a de-radicalisation programme. That same month, he was convicted in Germany of “preparing a serious act of subversive violence,” though Spiegel reported he received a suspended sentence.
Spiegel also reported that, a few weeks before the attack, police had received a tip-off after Abdul B posted a photo online posing with a weapon. A subsequent search of his apartment, however, found only a toy replica.
The manhunt and police operation
Following the attack, police deployed officers to the suspect’s known address, located around one kilometre south of the scene of the attack in Tiergarten Park, as part of the wider search operation. The manhunt concluded on Sunday when Abdul B was shot and killed during a police operation at a garden complex, German media reported.
Reaction from Berlin’s mayor
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack, saying: “This was an attack on all of us. It was an attack on our way of life and coexistence… and our way of life. Ladies and gentlemen, this must end. We must be very clear about this.”
