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<\/p>\nA wanted notice has been issued for an “Islamist” fugitive after a van rammed into a crowd during Berlin’s famed LGBTQ+ parade on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 29 others.<\/p>\n
Police and prosecutors asked for help in finding a 21-year-old, whom they identified as Abdul Ballout.<\/p>\n
German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said: “We cannot rule out the possibility that further terrorist attacks might take place.<\/p>\n
“This is not typical in these circumstances, however, it can’t be ruled out.”<\/p>\n
Dobrindt told reporters during a press conference the suspect is a naturalised German citizen of Lebanese background.<\/p>\n
He said Ballout used a vehicle to drive into a crowd, crashed into a tree and then used a knife or “another blunt instrument”, such as a machete, to attack passers-by, causing serious injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dobrindt adds that everything he has seen indicates that the city had experienced “an Islamist attack”.<\/p>\n
The minister said Ballout\u00a0 is on the run and that a large number of officers from Berlin and the federal police are working to find him.<\/p>\n
Previously, Ballout had been known to police and has committed a number of crimes. He was radicalised and known to be part of the Islamist scene<\/p>\n
He was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison, however, this was reduced to a non-custodial term which prosecutors appealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Authorities on Sunday said Ballout is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle, and that one or more people apparently then left that white van. Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added.<\/p>\n
The fugitive notice warned the public to avoid “direct contact” with the named suspect, saying that he may be “armed and dangerous”.<\/p>\n
Ballout is said to be 6ft 2 ins, of slim build, with black hair and wearing a black hoodie and white trousers.<\/p>\n
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Emergency personnel and police gather in Berlin early on Sunday. Credit: AP<\/p>\n
Berlin Police had said earlier that they had identified a male who has ties to Islamic groups in the German capital.<\/p>\n
“The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” police spokesman Florian Nath said.<\/p>\n
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White vehicle suspected of being used in the attack inside the police cordon at Tiergarten park. Credit: AP<\/p>\n
Nath added that “we still have no information whatsoever regarding his specific motives, the exact sequence of events, or his role in the crime itself.”<\/p>\n
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Two people embrace near others wearing thermal blankets as they stand near emergency personnel in Berlin. Credit: AP<\/p>\n
The event in Berlin was called off hours after it had begun.<\/p>\n
Police said a woman was killed. Berlin’s fire service added that three people sustained life-threatening injuries, another eight were seriously injured and five had slight injuries.<\/p>\n
The van, with its battered front resting against a tree, could still be seen at the scene Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described what happened as “an attack on our society.”<\/p>\n
“What an abhorrent act in Berlin,” Merz wrote in a post on X. He added that Germany loves freedom, “and we will preserve and defend that.”<\/p>\n
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Police cleared the scene before revealing that a car had driven into the crowd. Credit: AP<\/p>\n
Last night, firefighters and ambulances were out with many emergency staffers at the park to attend to the victims.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.<\/p>\n
The pride event in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in downtown was called off around 10.15pm. A band’s performance on stage was interrupted.<\/p>\n
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Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours. Credit: AP<\/p>\n
People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the Tiergarten park.<\/p>\n
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade.<\/p>\n
Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”<\/p>\n
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Wegner said. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”<\/p>\n
Julian Miethig, who had attended the LGBTQ+ party at the Brandenburg Gate earlier, said he had just wanted to go to an afterparty when he heard from a friend that “something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire trucks, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances.”<\/p>\n
He said he went to Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened at Berlin’s pride celebrations.<\/p>\n
“It’s a dark day for the community,” he said.<\/p>\n