Islamic Terror at Pride Parade! Police Hunt ISIS Member Abdul B.
A vehicle ramming attack at Berlin's Christopher Street Day celebration killed one woman and injured over a dozen, with police hunting suspect Abdul Rahman Ballout linked to Islamist extremism.
The assault occurred Saturday evening around 10 p.m. when a white minivan plowed through crowds gathered for the annual CSD event in the Tiergarten park area. According to Nius, police confirmed at least 16 people were injured in the attack, including three with life-threatening injuries and eight classified as seriously wounded.
Authorities have identified the suspect as Abdul Rahman Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen born in Berlin in 2005. Police spokesman Florian Nath confirmed the individual is known to law enforcement and linked to the Islamist scene in Berlin. German media reports indicate Ballout may be a member of the Islamic State terror organization.
Police issued a public manhunt notice with the suspect’s photograph, warning citizens not to approach him. The official statement emphasized that the wanted individual is potentially armed and dangerous, and should not be contacted directly under any circumstances.
According to Nius, Ballout was recently released from youth detention in May 2025 after serving time for aggravated assault and extortion-related offenses. His criminal record indicates a history of violent behavior prior to Saturday’s attack.
The vehicle attack unfolded when the white minivan entered the park from Linnestrasse at high speed, striking multiple victims before coming to rest heavily damaged. Following the collision, one or more individuals fled the vehicle on foot. Police reports indicate that in addition to the vehicle assault, several victims sustained injuries from edged weapons.
Special police units conducted a raid shortly after 1 a.m. at a residential building on Bissingzeile in Berlin’s Schöneberg district, the registered address for Abdul B. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion-like sound around 1:10 a.m. The location sits just 1.2 kilometers from the attack site. However, the tactical team departed the scene at approximately 1:25 a.m. without making an arrest.
Event organizers immediately cancelled the CSD celebration, which had drawn hundreds of thousands of attendees. Participants were instructed to leave the area calmly and avoid the vicinity of the Victory Column and Tiergarten park.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner arrived at the scene shortly after midnight, addressing the public about the tragedy. He described experiencing a magnificent celebration earlier in the day with happy people celebrating the city’s diversity, openness, freedom and love, before this terrible act brought it to an end.
Responding to questions about security measures, Wegner stated his belief that the CSD was very well protected, noting he had personally attended in the afternoon. He acknowledged, however, that absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
Following his public statement, the mayor entered the Tiergarten park with his security detail to personally inspect the attack site, as Nius reports, though he declined to answer further questions from journalists on location.
Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the attack, characterizing it as an abhorrent act.
Eyewitness accounts describe the white van traveling at high speed through the park, deliberately targeting pedestrians. Emergency services and police treated casualties at the scene, with victims suffering various degrees of injury from the vehicle assault and reported stabbing incidents.
The investigation remains active as authorities continue searching for the suspect or suspects involved in the attack. Police have not yet determined conclusively whether one individual or multiple perpetrators were responsible for the assault.
With information from Nius
