Suspect in Berlin LGBTQ+ parade attack has ties to Islamic "circles," police say as manhunt continues
Berlin police have identified a suspect with ties to Islamic "circles" in the German capital after a car plowed into a crowd at the city's LGBTQ+ parade Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 16.
Berlin police spokesman Florian Nath told reporters that measures were underway against the suspect and that "our search for this person is proceeding at full speed."
He did not identify the suspect by name but said that he was already known to police and is from Berlin.
"Based on the investigators' initial findings, we have already identified a suspected perpetrator," Nath said. "He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin."
Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. Firefighters and ambulances were out with many emergency staffers at the scene to attend to the victims.
In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the premises of the event immediately. According to police, a car had driven into the Tiergarten park, near the route of the pride march, hitting several people. Police did not know how many officers had been deployed to the scene but that it was "definitely a lot of police."
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."
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin's Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It's one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
The Pride event in front of the city's iconic Brandenburg Gate in downtown was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band's performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the Tiergarten park.
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade.
Julian Miethig, who had attended the LGBTQ+ party at the Brandenburg Gate earlier, said he had just wanted to go to an afterparty when he heard from a friend that "something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire trucks, 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.
