Lebanese-German ISIS terrorist who ploughed into Pride parade killing one and injuring 29 is shot and killed
The German ISIS terrorist of Lebanese origin, who rammed a vehicle into the pride parade, killing one and wounding 29 people, was shot and killed.
Abdul Ballout crashed a van into a crowd at the annual Christopher Street Day Pride parade in Berlin on Saturday.
German media reported on Sunday that the 21-year-old was shot dead during a police operation at a garden complex in Spandau, west of Berlin.
Police said the man was believed to have ‘ran towards our emergency forces with a bladed weapon, followed by the use of police firearms by the SEK (Special Operations Command) in Berlin’.
A spokesman added that the suspect died at the scene ‘despite immediate resuscitation measures’.
The force said they were ‘not looking for others at the moment’ regarding the attack.
Authorities launched a large-scale manhunt to capture the terrorist, who had previously tried to join the Islamic State (IS) group.
According to German media, police sources said that German citizen Abdul B went to Lebanon in 2025 to make an unsuccessful attempt to join the ISIS group.
According to German media, Abdul Ballout was shot dead. This comes after he crashed a van into a crowd at the annual Christopher Street Day Pride Parade in Berlin on Saturday.
Police officers with automatic weapons were seen in a residential complex in Berlin’s western Spandau district on Sunday
German media reported on Sunday that the 21-year-old was shot dead during a police operation at the complex.
He was remanded in pre-trial detention until May 2026 and ordered to attend a de-radicalisation programme.
In an update this afternoon, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed that the number of people injured had risen from 16 to 29, three of whom had life-threatening injuries.
‘Everything we see here shows that we are experiencing an Islamist attack,’ he said.
Mr Dobrindt said the suspect ‘crashed the car into the crowd’ and ‘then attacked the crowd with some sort of knife, which may have been a machete, and also severely injured these people’.
The minister said: ‘We cannot rule out the possibility of further terrorist attacks.’
Mr Dobrindt added that Abdul B was born in Germany in 2005 and is of Lebanese origin. His mother became a naturalized German citizen in 2002.
He was found guilty of ‘preparing a serious act of subversive violence’ in Germany this May, the newspaper reported, but Abdul B was given a suspended prison sentence, according to news magazine Spiegel.
According to Bild newspaper, he was caught while trying to join ISIS in Lebanon because he was a German citizen and was sent back to Germany.
Candles and flowers lie in front of the Brandenburg Gate near the scene where a vehicle is driven into the crowd next to the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade route in Berlin
People gather as candles burn in front of the famous Brandenburg Gate, illuminated with rainbow colors on the evening of July 26, 2026
The Citroen Spacetourer used in the attack in Tiergarten park was removed from the scene of the accident by police
Berliners gather at the Brandenburg Gate after a fatal incident in which a vehicle crashed into a crowd celebrating Pride
People gathered at the Brandenburg Gate mourn together in front of a rainbow flag on July 26, 2026
A woman wipes her tears as she walks to a memorial site for the victims near the scene of a car crash into a crowd
Police surround a vehicle that crashed into a crowd near the annual Christopher Street Day Pride Parade in Berlin on Saturday.
Police officers secure the area at a garden complex in the Berlin suburb of Spandau
Police said they were ‘not currently looking for anyone else’ in connection with the attack after Abdul Ballout was shot dead.
An emergency vehicle at a garden complex in the Berlin suburb of Spandau
Spiegel reported that a few weeks ago, a tip came in that Abdul B had posted a photo online posing with a gun.
However, a search of his apartment turned up only one replica toy. Police were deployed to the suspect’s alleged address, approximately one kilometer south of the scene of the attack.
Following Saturday’s attack, Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said: ‘This was an attack on all of us. This was an attack on our way of life, our way of living together and our way of life. Ladies and gentlemen, this must end. ‘We have to be very clear about this.’
Police and prosecutors said the suspect is believed to have used a moving vehicle, injuring several people, before one or more people left the van.
It appears that several people were also stabbed, they added.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the incident as ‘an attack on our society’.
“What a disgusting behavior in Berlin,” Merz wrote in his post on X. He added that Germany loves freedom and we will protect and defend it.
The attack occurred Saturday evening, close to the city’s annual Pride celebrations, and triggered a major emergency response and prompted authorities to launch a massive manhunt.
Police have not yet announced the cause of the incident, but are investigating it on suspicion of an extremist attack.
According to police, a white van entered Tiergarten park around 10pm and hit several people before crashing into a tree.
The closing party for the Pride festival, known as Christopher Street Day, was taking place nearby at the time, following a parade earlier in the day that saw around 80 trucks pass through Berlin city centre.
Julian Miethig, who has attended an LGBTQ+ party before, said he wanted to go to the afterparty after hearing from a friend that “something bad was happening.”
He said he went to the Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened during the Pride celebrations in Berlin. ‘It’s a dark day for society,’ he added.
The Pride event next to the Brandenburg Gate was canceled around 22:15, and the band’s performance on stage was also interrupted.
Organizers of Berlin’s Christopher Street Day pride celebrations canceled two more events following the attack.
Hundreds of thousands of people had descended on Berlin on Saturday to attend one of Europe’s biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations, but it was unclear how many people were still at the festival by late evening.
People were urged to go home and avoid using the route through Tiergarten park, while the word ‘Evacuate’ was displayed in bright colors on a large screen near the Brandenburg Gate and they were instructed to leave ‘in an orderly manner’ in an Instagram post.
‘Please avoid the Victory Column and the Tiergarten. Leave the area in the direction of the main railway station,’ the post read.
