Suspect shot dead after fatal attack near Berlin Pride

Berlin – 26.07.2026: The suspect in the attack in the vicinity of Berlin’s Christopher Street Day was shot dead during a police operation in Berlin-Spandau on Sunday evening. According to Berlin police, the 21-year-old attacked officers with a bladed weapon in an allotment garden complex. Special forces fired at him. Resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.

Police had been searching for Abdul B. since Saturday evening. At around 10 p.m. in Tiergarten, he is alleged to have struck several people with a rented vehicle. He then allegedly injured other passers-by with a bladed weapon. One woman died on the evening of the attack, and 29 people were injured, according to the findings of the investigation so far.

The attack occurred near the closing event of Christopher Street Day at the Brandenburg Gate, but not on the demonstration route or at the event site. The celebrations were called off after the incident. According to police, none of the injured are now in life-threatening condition. On Sunday, numerous people left flowers, candles and rainbow flags at the scene.

The Federal Public Prosecutor General’s Office in Karlsruhe has taken over the investigation. It handles criminal offenses involving, or potentially involving, a particular connection to state security. So far, neither the exact motive nor the full sequence of events has been publicly clarified. Possible links between the attack and CSD are also part of the investigation. Information about the background remains subject to the ongoing inquiries.

The Berlin Public Prosecutor General’s Office released details on Sunday about earlier proceedings against Abdul B. According to the office, the Tiergarten Local Court sentenced him on May 12, 2026, to a juvenile prison term of one year and 10 months for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state and for violations of the Associations Act. The Public Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the ruling.

According to judicial authorities, Abdul B. attempted in 2025 to travel via Lebanon to Syria in order to join the Islamic State terrorist organization. He was arrested in Lebanon and returned to Germany in November 2025. In determining the sentence, the court took into account, among other things, previous periods of detention and his stated distancing from the organization at the time. What significance this history has for Saturday’s attack has not yet been clarified.

Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner praised the police search operation. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced that he would have security arrangements for further major events and Pride dates in Germany reviewed. The criminal investigation is being handled by the Federal Public Prosecutor General’s Office and Berlin investigative authorities.