Police hunt suspect after deadly Berlin Pride car attack

German police are searching for a 21-year-old suspect believed linked to Islamist circles after a car ploughed into a crowd near Berlin's Gay Pride celebrations, killing one person and wounding 16 others.

The incident shattered what had been a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands attending Christopher Street Day, one of Europe's largest Pride events, and left revellers fleeing a central Berlin park as sirens echoed through the night.

Police said the suspect's vehicle was later found abandoned a few hundred metres from the heart of the festivities in Tiergarten park.

A manhunt involving helicopters and officers from several German states is under way across the capital.

Police and prosecutors appealed for information on a 21-year-old man identified as Abdul B., warning he may be armed and dangerous.

The suspect was believed to have links to "Islamist circles", police spokesperson Florian Nath said earlier.

The attack occurred shortly before 10pm, local time, last night.

A vehicle like a mini-van or an SUV "entered the Tiergarten park and hit several people," police said.

One person died and 16 others were injured, including three with life-threatening injuries, according to Berlin fire department spokesperson Dominik Pretz.

Around 30 more people were treated for shock at the scene.

Police described the suspect as slender, about 1.90 metres (6'3") tall, with black hair, wearing a black hoodie and white trousers.

Investigators said several people were believed to have been wounded with stabbing weapons and that one or more people were seen leaving the vehicle after the incident.

The attack revived memories of a series of car rammings and attacks on markets that have shaken Germany in recent years and fuelled a fierce debate over security.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed that those responsible for the latest incident would face justice.

In a statement, Mr Merz described the incident as a "horrific act" and said he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt were being kept informed of developments.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned what he called a brutal attack on "a gathering for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin".

Police had deployed more than 2,000 officers to secure the event.

Following the attack, additional personnel from across Germany joined the search, supported by helicopters equipped with thermal-imaging cameras.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw numerous emergency vehicles lining a nearby road and a large tent erected as police combed the area.

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the Christopher Street Day event, which draws crowds from across Europe.

The march ended next to the Brandenburg Gate, which has hosted concerts since Friday.

Germany has been hit by several violent attacks at public spaces, including a stabbing in February 2025 at Berlin's Holocaust memorial, close to the scene of yesterday's incident, in which a Spanish tourist was seriously wounded.

A Syrian man, named only as Wassim Al M., was jailed in March for 13 years for the attack, with the court finding he acted in the name of the so-called Islamic State group.

In May, a German man drove a car at high speed on a street in the eastern city of Leipzig killing two people and injuring six.

Last month Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, a 51-year-old Saudi psychiatrist, was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people and wounding more than 300 when he drove a rented SUV through a crowded Christmas market in 2024 in the eastern city of Magdeburg.

Abdulmohsen was an anti-Islam activist and his trial testimony was sometimes incoherent and riddled with conspiracy theories and fringe far-right ideas.

The deadliest attack in recent years was a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people.

Yesterday's incident came two months before voters in Berlin elect a new state assembly.

Polls indicate that Mr Merz's centre-right CDU will face a stiff challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the far-left Linke parties.

Berline mayor Mr Wegner said this month he would not run for re-election after months of criticism over his handling of a major blackout in January apparently caused by sabotage.