Sunday 26 July 2026

Berlin Pride car ramming suspect shot dead by police after raid on ‘garden shed’

BREAKING: Police name suspect following Berlin car ramming incident

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GB NEWS

Ed Griffiths

By Ed Griffiths


Published: 26/07/2026

- 18:27

Updated: 26/07/2026

- 19:14

The man is said to be of Lebanese background and was previously known to the police for a prior sentencing

Police have shot dead the suspect who rammed a van into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event on Saturday night.

Police confronted Abdul Ballout, 21, thought to be an "armed and dangerous Islamist" in a raid on a garden shed.


He is suspected of killing one and injuring 29 others in the attack last night.

The man was identified as Lebanese and was previously known to the police following a prior sentencing.

Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered peacefully in the German capital for the annual Christopher Street Day celebrations yesterday evening, before the suspect allegedly crashed a van and attacked attendees with a knife before fleeing on foot.

The attack sparked a huge police operation to hunt down the suspect.

He was shot dead in an allotment complex in Berlin’s Spandau district by a SWAT team, German media reported.

Police fired at the suspect after he reportedly attacked officers first.

Abdul BA manhunt is underway for Abdul Ballout who is known to police | REUTERS

He rushed at officers with a "stabbing weapon", according to reports.

The suspect was fatally wounded and died at 6.34pm, according to Bild.

Berlin Police said: "Around 6 pm, the suspect in yesterday’s attack in the Großer Tiergarten was located in an allotment garden facility in Spandau.

"According to current findings, he is said to have rushed toward our emergency forces with a stabbing weapon, after which police firearms were used by our SEK Berlin. Despite immediate resuscitation measures initiated by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene."

Berlin’s Interior Minister Iris Spranger said: "I am grateful to the security authorities for finding the attacker so quickly.

"That is a tremendous achievement."

According to German media, he had previously tried to join the Islamic State group, having travelled to Lebanon in 2025, and was arrested on his return to Berlin.

The 21-year-old had been in pre-trial detention until May 2026 and was ordered to take part in a de-radicalisation programme.

Christopher Street Day

The suspect allegedly crashed a van and attacked attendees with a knife before fleeing on foot

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GETTY

Shortly after the attack, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said: "Everything we are seeing here indicates that we have experienced an Islamist terror attack."

Mayor Kai Wegner said the festival site "was not attacked because the perpetrator wasn't able to make it there, because that had been secured by police".

However, 400m from the event site, people on their way to or from the event, as well as others walking around became targets of the car ramming spree.

The Mayor said yesterday was a "dark day", but before the horror incident it was a "bright, colourful day, showing just how open and diverse the city is".

White van used in the attack

The white van that the suspect used in last night's attack

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GETTY

He says Berlin was showing itself "as a city of freedom" and that "colourful is actually a lovely thing to be".

Mr Dobrindt said after the car ramming, the suspect "then attacked the crowd with some type of blade, it might have been a machete, and also severely injured those people.

He said he was "dumbstruck" and "deeply shaken by these horrific events", adding that his thoughts, grief and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones and the injured.

He said: "We hope there is a chance that those still fighting for their lives will be able to overcome this difficult situation."