A van ploughed into crowds at Berlin's annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 16 others before crashing into a tree. Police and prosecutors on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a 21-year-old identified only as Abdul B, and warned members of the public to avoid direct contact with him.
A van ploughed into crowds gathered for Berlin's annual LGBTQ+ Pride festival on Saturday night, killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to cancel the celebrations and a concert in the German capital just hours after they had begun.
Berlin police said they have identified a suspect who has not been arrested and who has ties to Islamist groups in the German capital.
"The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamist circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed," police spokesman Florian Nath said.
German authorities on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a 21-year-old man, whom they identified as Abdul B.
Police and prosecutors said he is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle, and that one or more people apparently then left that vehicle. Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added.
Sunday’s notice warned the public to avoid “direct contact” with the suspect, saying that he may be armed and dangerous.
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".
Earlier, police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. In a post on X, police urged everyone to leave the event site immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims.
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According to police, a white van drove into Tiergarten park at about 10pm, next to the route the Pride march had taken earlier, striking several people before colliding with a tree. Police could not say how many officers had been deployed to the scene, only that it was "definitely a lot of police".
More than 2,200 police officers had been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the Pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city.
Police were interviewing witnesses at the park overnight and investigating reports that, in addition to the vehicle attack, some victims appeared to have suffered stab wounds, but said it was too early to draw any conclusions.
Berlin 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".
"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."
Authorities also appealed for witnesses to come forward and share any videos or photographs they had taken at the scene.
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The city activated a crisis hotline for people searching for missing friends or family members.
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin on Saturday for the city's Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day, one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
The event in front of the Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off at about 10:15pm and a band's performance was interrupted. People were urged to go home and avoid routes through the park.
Before the incident, revellers had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music and cheering around 80 floats taking part in the parade.
Julian Miethig, who had attended the LGBTQ+ celebrations at Brandenburg Gate earlier, said he had been on his way to an after-party when a friend told him "something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire engines, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances".
He said he went to Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened at Berlin's Pride celebrations.
"It's a dark day for the community," he said.
The van, with its battered front resting against a tree, could still be seen at the scene Sunday morning.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
