Berlin Pride Attack Leaves One Dead, Identified as Polish Citizen

A van rammed into a crowd near the Berlin Pride Parade late Saturday, killing a 65-year-old Polish woman and injuring 29 others in what authorities have confirmed as an Islamist terror attack.

The Attack in Tiergarten

The attack occurred late Saturday evening, July 25. The perpetrator drove a van into a crowd of people in an alleyway in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, not far from where the Pride Parade was taking place. One woman was killed and 29 people were injured in the attack.

German Interior Minister Statement

The head of the German Interior Ministry described the attack as an Islamist terrorist act. Speaking at a press conference near the scene on Sunday, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that everything points to the attack being an Islamist terrorist act, adding that the perpetrator likely also attacked people with a machete at the crime scene.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner stated that the terrorist attack was motivated by hatred.

Victim Identified as Warsaw Resident

According to the German daily Bild, the victim is a 65-year-old resident of Warsaw. The daughter of the deceased, who had traveled to Berlin with her mother, was reportedly injured in the same incident. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner also confirmed that the victim of the tragic attack is a Polish national.

Wegner announced that he expressed his condolences to the Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Poland in Germany, Jan Tombiński. Quoted by the dpa agency, Wegner said he was deeply moved by Saturday’s events and that his thoughts are with Poland, and above all with the daughter and family of the murdered woman.

The Berlin mayor stated that the terrorist attack was motivated by hatred, emphasizing the need for more cooperation, greater solidarity, less hatred, and fewer wars in the world. Wegner revealed that the victim was Polish during the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising at the Berlin Red Town Hall.

Consular Support for the Victim’s Family

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maciej Wewiór wrote on the X platform that the ministry was shocked and deeply saddened to learn that the victim of the tragic attack in Berlin was a Polish citizen, offering sincere condolences to the family and loved ones, and confirming that the Polish consul in Berlin is in contact with German authorities and will provide necessary consular support to the family.

A commemoration ceremony for the deceased woman is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 3:00 PM in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

Suspect Profile and Police Operation

The suspect was shot dead on Sunday during a police operation in a garden allotment area in Berlin’s Spandau district. Authorities identified the perpetrator as 21-year-old Abdul B., an Islamic State sympathizer. The German Interior Minister noted that he was already known to police and had committed past offenses, explaining that the 21-year-old was born in Germany in 2005 and has Lebanese roots after becoming radicalized.

German media reported that the main suspect tried to join the Islamic State without success, traveling to Lebanon in 2025 and being detained by police upon his return to Berlin, remaining in pretrial detention until May of this year and receiving an order to participate in a deradicalization program.

According to Wyborcza, the suspect was arrested at the airport upon returning to Germany in November 2025 and remained detained until his sentencing. A Berlin court spokesperson stated that Ballout received a suspended sentence because he distanced himself from Islamic State activities during the trial, which the court believed.