One Killed and 15 Injured After Van Rams Berlin Pride Crowd
A vehicle drove into a crowd at Berlin's LGBTQ+ Pride event in Tiergarten park on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 15 others and prompting police to cancel the celebrations and search for suspects in what is being examined as a Germany terror attack. [1] [2]
Vehicle Strikes Crowd at Berlin Pride Event
A van drove into a crowd gathered for Berlin's annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 15 others before crashing into a tree. [1] Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. [1] Firefighters, ambulances and event emergency staff were treating the injured at the location. [1] According to police, a white van drove into Tiergarten park, next to the route the Pride march had taken earlier, striking several people before crashing into a tree. [1] At least one person was killed and around 15 wounded after a car hit the crowd on the outskirts of the Berlin Gay Pride parade. [4] German police say they believe a car drove into Tiergarten park, near the route of a Pride march, hitting several people. [2] They said at least 16 people were injured and some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. [2] Emergency services were treating the injured at the scene. [2]
Police Response and Search for Suspects
Police urged everyone to leave the event site immediately in a post on X. [1] Police said a large number of officers had been deployed to the scene. [1] "We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects," police officer Florian Nath said in a short video posted on the Berlin police X account. [1] Police spokesperson Alexander Klute later told The Associated Press that "at this point, we don't know anything about any possible motives, the identity of the perpetrator or perpetrators, or anything of that nature." [1] Police added that a vehicle was abandoned at the scene in Tiergarten Park and they were searching for the occupant or occupants. [2] "We are conducting an intensive search for suspects," police spokesman Florian Nath said in a video posted on X. [2] Police officers illuminated the area between Potsdamer Platz and the southern side of the Tiergarten tunnel as they searched for evidence. [2] Police spokesman Florian Nath said some of the survivors were "seriously" injured and are being treated by emergency services. [5] Police told AFP they had found the car they thought had been involved in the incident abandoned. [5] The Gay Pride event was cut short, and police told participants to "Go home, please" and sealed off the area where the people were injured. [5]
Official Condemnations
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed Sunday to punish the perpetrators. [2] In a statement, he said he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt would "push to make sure this horrific act is fully investigated and punished". [2] In a post on X, Berlin mayor Kai Wegner said "freedom has come under attack in the most horrific way." [2] Merz said in a statement that he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt would "push to make sure this horrific act is fully investigated and punished". [5] Kai Wegner said in a post on X that the "gathering for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin has been most brutally attacked". [5]
Scale of Berlin's Christopher Street Day
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin on Saturday for the city's Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day, one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations. [1] The event in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off at about 10:15 p.m. [1] Before the incident, revellers had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music and cheering around 80 floats taking part in the parade. [1] Hundreds of thousands of people had come to the city on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. [2] It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ celebrations. [2] The Pride event in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in downtown was called off at about 10:15pm local time, and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. [2] Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the approximately 80 floats that participated in the parade. [2] Earlier Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people took part in the event, called Christopher Street Day in Germany. [5]
Eyewitness Accounts and Aftermath
Julian Miethig, who had attended the celebrations at Brandenburg Gate earlier, said he had been on his way to an after-party when a friend told him "something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire engines, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances". [1] He said he went to Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened at Berlin's Pride celebrations. [1] "It's a dark day for the community," he said. [1] An eyewitness by the main Pride stage at Brandenburg Gate said the crowd complied with the request to leave and head away from the park shortly at around 11:00 pm. [5] The program at the main stage had been scheduled to continue until midnight. [5] An AFP journalist in the area saw at least 10 emergency service vehicles at the scene and a tent set up in the road. [5] Police officers could be seen patrolling the huge area of the park. [5]
What to watch next: Police continue an intensive search for possible suspects with no information yet on the perpetrator's identity or motives, while authorities push for a full investigation into the incident.
