Berlin Pride attack suspect dead after police confrontation, officials say
German authorities say Abdul Ballout died after police confronted him following a Berlin Pride attack that killed one and injured 29.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
The Berlin Pride attack suspect is dead after a confrontation with police, German authorities said, ending a nearly 24-hour manhunt after a van and machete attack near the city’s Pride festival.
Officials identified the suspect as Abdul Ballout. Authorities have accused him of driving a van into a crowd near the Berlin Pride event and attacking others with a machete, according to the report.
German officials said the Saturday attack left one person dead and 29 others injured. Ballout was killed Sunday, according to authorities.
What happened to the Berlin Pride attack suspect?
Berlin Police said in a statement on X that Ballout allegedly rushed toward emergency forces while carrying a stabbing weapon. Police then used firearms, according to the statement.
The Berlin Fire Department began resuscitation efforts at the scene, police said. Ballout died there despite those measures, according to the police statement.
The confrontation came after authorities searched for Ballout for nearly a full day following the attack near Berlin’s Pride festival.
What are prosecutors investigating?
Berlin prosecutors said Ballout previously tried to join the Islamic State group. Authorities are investigating the Pride attack as an act of Islamic extremist terrorism, according to prosecutors.
That designation means investigators are examining whether the attack was carried out with an extremist motive. The report did not include any statement from Ballout before his death.
Police have not released further details in the report about the person killed in the Pride attack or the conditions of the 29 people injured.
The case remains under investigation by German authorities.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.