One person is dead and 16 others are injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event, police say
An intensive manhunt is under way in the German capital, officers say
The incident happened at the Tiergarten park, near the iconic Brandenburg Gate, shortly before 22:00 local time
A spokesperson for the police told reporters at the scene they have identified a suspect but that no arrests have been made
"The driver of a white vehicle is said to have struck several people... there are numerous injured, including several with life-threatening injuries," police said on social media
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called the incident a "horrific act" and promised to fully investigate
The mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, has called the incident "an attack on our free and open-minded society"
Jared Reed, a reporter at DW based in Berlin, tells the BBC News Channel that thousands of police are searching for the suspect or suspects "in a very large part of central Berlin."
German newspaper Welt reported that more than 2,200 police officers had been deployed since the event began on Saturday morning.
Saturday night's events come after several incidents involving cars being driven into crowds recent years:
The finale of the parade for Christopher Street Day takes place in front of the Brandenburg gate, which backs onto the Tiergarten park.
It is a leafy oasis in central Berlin, larger than London's Hyde Park but smaller than Central Park in New York.
But this evening, a vehicle was driven into people gathered in the park, police said.
When it happened, people ran into the park to try and hide, Eva Baungart, a reporter at Berliner Zeitung, tells the BBC.
The vehicle was later found abandoned there, police told AFP.
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockA police truck illuminates Tiergarten park near where a vehicle drove into people.
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockFoil blankets are often used for insulation when a person is being treated for shock.
Berlin fire department spokesperson Dominik Pretz tells AFP that around 30 people were treated for shock at the scene.
Pictures taken in Berlin show people, wrapped in reflective foil blankets, consoling each other.
Image source, EPAPolice officers work inside the Tiergarten park
Police have been using helicopters and thermal-imaging cameras to track down the suspect or suspects involved in the incident, a spokesperson tells AFP.
Now, they have expanded their search to the whole city, Florian Nath says.
He has also given details about the suspected vehicle involved, saying it was "akin to a minivan or small SUV".
A spokesperson for the police has told reporters at the scene they have identified a suspected perpetrator.
The person has not yet been arrested but measures are under way, the spokesperson says.
They are known to the police as a member of "Berlin's Islamist scene", the spokesperson says.
"We have now identified a suspected perpetrator. Measures against this suspected perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, are underway. However, this suspected perpetrator is known to the police as a member of the Islamist scene here in Berlin," the spokesperson told reporters.
Image source, ReutersEarlier in the day, revellers walked through the streets of Berlin with Pride flags.
The event is held annually in Berlin and typically about 1 million people were expected, according to the city.
It commemorates the first known uprising among the LGBT community in New York City in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher Street. Residents rioted and protested after a police raid at the inn, which later was made a landmark.
The event in Berlin includes musical performances, political speeches, and a huge parade in the city, which ended near the park, and then a series of events and celebrations into the evening.
The vehicle police suspect was involved in the incident was found abandoned in Tiergarten park, police have told Agence France Presse.
Jared Reid, a reporter at DW, told the BBC news channel that the vehicle appeared to have crashed into a tree, before the driver likely got out and ran.
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockTiergarten Park on 14 July
In a post on X, Polizei Berlin have put out a call for evidence.
They have requested that witnesses send in videos and photos that they personally took for further investigation.
Image source, ReutersPolice officers operate after the annual Berlin's Christopher Street Day Pride parade was called off, after a car crashed into the crowd at Tiergarten park, leaving several people injured, in Berlin, Germany.
James Jackson, an independent journalist in Berlin, was at the event.
He told BBC News: "The whole pride event was evacuated by the Brandenburg Gate, the legendary landmark of Berlin, it actually had 'evacuation' written in big letters, so the police have had to do a major operation because of this, I’ve never seen something quite like it."Photographs from earlier in the day show people dressed up and celebrating in front of the gates and pride flags flying.
Image source, ReutersThe annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) pride demonstration's flags flutter in front of the Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, Germany, July 25, 2026.
Image source, EPAPeople stand at the Brandenburg Gate during the annual Christopher Street Day Pride parade in Berlin, Germany, 25 July 2026.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now commented on the incident.
He called it a "horrific act" and promised to fully investigate the incident and punish the perpetrator, according to local media.
Berliner Zeitung reports that Merz is in close contact with Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and is being "kept constantly informed" by security authorities.
The mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, has called the incident, "an attack on our free and open-minded society".
In a post in X, Wegner continued, "Berlin is a city of freedom—and today, our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and their friends. I thank the emergency responders who were immediately on the scene and did everything in their power to help. And I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be investigating with the utmost urgency."
We can bring you a new update now from Berlin police on social media, confirming one person is dead and 16 others are injured.
Some of those have life-threatening injuries, they add.
They have set up a hotline, external for relatives as the investigation continues.
One person is dead and at least 14 others are injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event, police say.
Authorities earlier said there is an active manhunt for one or more suspects in the incident, adding some injuries were life-threatening.
Stay with us while you bring you the latest.
Eva Braungart, a reporter at Berliner Zeitung, has just been speaking to BBC News.
She was at the event but left before the car drove into the crowd.
She has spoken to witnesses who were there, who said they saw a car driving "very quickly" into the crowd, they heard screams, and that people were panicking, with some running into Tiergarten park and trying to hide.
Police have closed the area near the Tiergarten park, where they say a car drove into people at a pride event.
Earlier in the day, the area was filled with people wearing rainbow garb, waving flags and signs and celebrating the LGBT community.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesMichael Steininger
Reporting from Berlin
The Pride parade in Berlin has been called off after an incident in the city centre. Berlin police said on social media that a "major police operation" was underway on the edge of the Tiergarten park, close to the iconic Brandenburg Gate.
Sirens can be heard all over the area. Police and emergency responders are attending to a significant number of injured people, several of them with life threatening injuries.
Initial reports suggest that a car may have driven into the crowd, a police spokesperson said. He added that police were currently looking intensely for potential perpetrators involved in the incident.
Local media cite eyewitnesses who report that a white van sped into a crowd of people in the Tiergarten shortly after 22:00 local time. Organisers asked the public on social media and on screens at the event to leave the area in a calm and orderly fashion.
A screen at Brandenburg Gate said: “Evacuation.”
The annual Berlin Pride march, also referred to as Christopher Street Day, attracts hundreds of thousands of people, demonstrating for and celebrating the rights of queer communities. It is the biggest of a series of similar events all across Germany.
We can bring you a new update from Berlin police posted to social media.
They say that shortly before 22:00 local time, the driver of a white vehicle reportedly struck several people on the Ahornsteig road in the Tiergarten park.
Police say there are numerous injuries, including several life-threatening, without specifying numbers.
They say they are conducting a high-priority search for one or more suspects.
Several people have life-threatening injuries after a vehicle drove into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event in the city centre, police say.
An intensive manhunt is currently under way, police say, as they urged people to avoid the area.
The injured are being treated by emergency services near Tiergarten park, where the incident took place, police added.
The annual pride event, Christopher Street Day, has been cancelled.
This is a breaking story, stay with us as we bring you the latest
