Car crashes into Berlin Pride crowd, one dead

At least one person was killed and 16 injured when a car drove into a crowd at a Pride event in Berlin’s Tiergarten park on Saturday evening, German media report. Three of the injured are in critical condition.

German police are treating the attack as an Islamist terror incident, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told DPA news agency, stating that all evidence points in that direction. Authorities continue a large-scale manhunt for Abdul B., the 21-year-old suspect, and have searched an apartment in the Schöneberg district without finding relevant evidence.

Dan Bjørke, leader of Oslo Pride, told Dagbladet the attack was devastating. “This is first and foremost incredibly sad,” he said, extending his condolences to Berlin’s LGBTQ+ community. He drew parallels to the 2022 Oslo shooting that killed two people outside the London Pub and Per på hjørnet bar.

“We know from experience that such attacks affect far beyond the location where they occur,” Bjørke said. He stressed the need for society to stand together to defend its values, adding, “It is shocking that there are forces that want to harm queer people so severely.”

Norway’s Foreign Ministry confirmed no Norwegians were affected. German LGBTQ+ organisation CSD Deutschland called the attack a cowardly act, stating it was an assault on open society and freedom. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed shock, calling it an attack on shared values of tolerance and diversity. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said he was deeply shaken by the event.