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A van crashed into people gathered for Berlin’s famous 2SLGBTQ+ event on Saturday evening, killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to cancel the celebrations and a concert just hours after they began.
Berlin police said they had identified a suspect who has not been arrested and has ties to Islamic extremists in the German capital.
“The suspect is known to the police. He is known to us as a member of Islamist circles here in Berlin and our search for this person is in full swing,” said police spokesman Florian Nath. He did not name the suspect.
Police had previously said some of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries. Firefighters and ambulance crews, along with numerous rescue workers, were on site to treat the victims.
“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” Nath said in a short video previously published on the Berlin police account on X.
“Attack on our free and cosmopolitan society”
According to police, a white van drove into Tiergarten, just off the route the Pride protester had previously marched on, and struck several people before colliding with a tree. Police couldn’t say how many officers were there, but there were “definitely a lot of police.”
In total, more than 2,200 police officers have been deployed in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the Pride parade and other related events in the city.
Police conducted witness interviews at the park overnight and investigated reports that some victims appeared to have suffered stab wounds in addition to the accident – but said it was too early to draw any conclusions from those reports.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner was shocked and said that “after a peaceful and lively Pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way.”
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” said Wegner, adding that his thoughts were with the victims, their families and friends.
“I have confidence in the police and security agencies who will work around the clock on the investigation.”
Meanwhile, authorities urged possible witnesses to come forward and provide police with any videos and photos they may have taken at the scene of the attack.
The city has also set up a crisis hotline for people who are missing friends or family members.
“Dark day for the community”
Hundreds of thousands of people came to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate in the city’s Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It is one of Europe’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ celebrations.
The Pride event in front of the famous Brandenburg Gate in downtown Berlin was canceled at around 10:15 p.m. local time and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were asked to go home and avoid going through the zoo.
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music and cheering on the approximately 80 floats that took part in the parade.
Julian Miethig, who had previously attended events at the Brandenburg Gate, said he was about to go to an afterparty when he heard from a friend that “something bad happened there, and there are a lot of fire engines, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances.”
He said he went to the Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could happen during the Pride celebrations in Berlin.
“It’s a dark day for the community,” Miethig said.
