German police kill suspect in Berlin Pride attack
by Danielle Haynes · UPIJuly 26 (UPI) -- The suspect accused of driving a vehicle through Berlin's largest Pride event died in an encounter with police, one day after the attack, officials announced Sunday.
Berlin police said police tracked the suspect, Abdul Ballout, to an allotment garden complex in the Spandau district.
Holding a knife, he allegedly rushed at officers, who opened fire, CNN reported. Emergency responders provided medical aid but Ballout died at the scene.
His death came amid a large manhunt in response to Saturday's attack.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt identified Ballout earlier Sunday, describing him as a supporter of the Islamic State militant group. He said he was a German citizen of Lebanese background.
Dobrindt described the deadly assault as an "Islamist terrorist attack" during a news conference near the site of the incident in Tiergarten Park in Berlin, The New York Times reported.
"Everything we have seen so far indicates that we are dealing with an Islamist terrorist attack," he said.
Ballout, 21, is accused of driving a vehicle into a crowd at Berlin's Pride festival on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 29 people. Officials said some of the victims were severely injured but none was in life-threatening condition.
Police said one or more people appeared to have exited the vehicle after it rammed into the crowd. Ballout then allegedly used a machete to stab multiple people before fleeing.
Dobrindt said there was evidence Ballout supported the Islamic State -- also known as ISIS -- and had a criminal conviction in May, The Guardian reported. "We are dealing here with a suspected perpetrator, who had previously drawn attention to himself through a high volume of criminal offenses, radicalization and affiliation with the Islamist scene," he said.
Police representative Florian Nath said the search for Ballout had been "proceeding at full speed."
"We still have no information whatsoever regarding his specific motives, the exact sequence of events or his role in the crime itself."