Summary

  • One woman is dead and 16 others are injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event, police say

  • Several people are also reported to have been stabbed in the attack, which happened shortly before 22:00 local time in Tiergarten park, near the Brandenburg Gate - here's a timeline of how it unfolded

  • The force says a manhunt is under way for one or more suspects, including one who has been named as 21-year-old Abdul B

  • Officers have released a photo of the suspect, who they say has known links to Islamist circles, but no arrests have been made

  • A white vehicle suspected of being used in the attack has also been pictured inside the police cordon

  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz promises the attack will be investigated with the "utmost severity"

  • Berlin should have woken up this morning with a massive hangover after a great party. Instead, it woke up to the sobering realisation of yet another deadly attack hitting the country, says our reporter in Berlin

  1. Police seen searching woods for evidencepublished at 11:23 BST

    New images show police searching woodland after last night's deadly attack on a Berlin Pride event.

    Officers can be seen walking in a line and appear to be looking at the ground for evidence.

    Earlier photos showed police inspecting the white vehicle suspected of being used in the attack.

    Police search the area after a deadly incident in which a vehicle crashed into a crowd near Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day Pride paradeImage source, Reuters
    Police search the area after a deadly incident in which a vehicle crashed into a crowd near Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day Pride paradeImage source, Reuters
  2. Where did the attack happen?published at 10:57 BST

    Map graphic showing the location of Lennéstrasse in central Berlin, Germany. An inset map highlights Berlin within Germany. The main map zooms into the city, with a satellite view identifying Tiergarten park, the Victory Column, and the Brandenburg Gate. Lennéstrasse is marked in a red label on the south-eastern edge of the park.

    Berlin police say people were hit by a car in Tiergarten park in central Berlin at about 22:00 local time (21:00 BST) on Saturday.

    Thousands of people had taken part in the Christopher Street Day Pride event, which passed through the city before moving through Tiergarten park, past the Victory Column monument, and then heading to Brandenburg Gate, where a stage had been set up.

    Berlin police said people were hit on Ahornsteig in the park, largely through a forested area.

  3. Three left with life-threatening injuries after attack - Berlin fire departmentpublished at 10:43 BST

    Berlin's fire department spokesman Dominik Pretz has told reporters that, among the 16 people injured in the attack, three have life-threatening injuries.

    Providing a breakdown, Pretz says eight people are seriously injured and five have minor injuries.

    He also says that 30 people had been in the area and were left "shaken" after the attack.

  4. European politicians react to attack on Berlin Pride paradepublished at 10:35 BST

    Ursula von der Leyen pictured in 2024Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ursula von der Leyen: "Every person should be able to live, love, and stand up for their rights without fear"

    European leaders have been reacting to last night's attack.

    European CommissionPresident Ursula von der Leyen expresses her sympathy to the victims, saying the Pride event stands for "freedom, dignity, and equality - the fundamental values of the EU".

    "Every person should be able to live, love, and stand up for their rights without fear," she writes on social media.

    Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten says the incident is a "direct attack on our free and tolerant society".

    Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger says: "The attack on [Christopher Street Day] in Berlin shakes me to my core ... We will not let anyone take these values from us. Love is stronger than hate."

  5. 'Berlin pride will never be the same after the attack,' says LGBTQ bloggerpublished at 10:10 BST

    Julian Miethig wears a white t-shirt and a silver chain as he speaks to a webcam. He is against a white background

    Julian Miethig, who attended the Pride event in Berlin, has told the BBC News channel that Christopher Street Day celebrations have been changed forever.

    "Berlin pride will never be the same after the attack," he says. "There will always be a before and an after."

    But Miethig, who runs the LGBTQ project Queer4mat, also says security measures at the event appeared to be good.

  6. What we do and don't knowpublished at 09:46 BST

    It’s unclear how many people were involved in the attack - police say "one or more people" are believed to have fled the vehicle.

    So far, one suspect has been named: Abdul B. Here’s what we know about him.

    We also don’t know how many of the injuries were caused by the car attack and how many by a reported stabbing - or when and how the stabbing happened.

    Police say one person is dead and 16 are injured, some with life-threatening injuries.

    In a statement this morning, they said the car attack injured "several people", and that "several people" were also reported to have been injured with stabbing weapons.

    The BBC has contacted Berlin Police for comment.

  7. Police inspect car and lay out orange markings in Tiergarten parkpublished at 09:27 BST

    A man wearing blue gloves and a surgical mask is seen next to the open door of a white van. Several uniformed police officers stand near the vehicle. The path the vehicle is on has been cordoned off and two officers stand guard near some police tapeImage source, Reuters

    Dozens of police officers continue to work inside the cordon at Tiergarten park.

    Several vehicles and a police van are parked on a road in the park, metres from the white vehicle believed to have been used in the attack.

    An officer was also seen inspecting the vehicle while wearing blue plastic gloves.

    Orange police markings and tyre tracks can be seen nearby.

    An orange circle is drawn on the floor in Tiergarten park. A curved tyre track can be seen next to the markingImage source, Reuters
  8. Berlin wakes up to sobering realisation of yet another deadly attackpublished at 08:57 BST

    Michael Steininger
    Reporting from Berlin

    rainbow flag lies on the ground as parade infrastructure is dismantled near the Brandenburg Gate, after a deadly incident in which a vehicle crashed into a crowd near Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day Pride parade on Saturday eveningImage source, Reuters

    The scene around the Brandenburg Gate this morning is what you’d expect after a Pride parade: the debris of a raucous party, with empty bottles and paper plates on the ground.

    Workers are dismantling the stage in front of the gate, while joggers do their morning rounds through the Tiergarten.

    But across town, a massive manhunt is under way for someone police have named as a suspect - 21-year-old Abdul B.

    Police say he’s known to have connections to Islamist circles and is believed to be associated with a van that was driven into a crowd on the other side of the park, killing one person and injuring 16 others.

    Shortly afterwards - at about 22:00 last night - organisers cancelled the event, which had drawn hundreds of thousands of people, and asked everyone to leave the area.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned what he called an attack on Germany’s open and freedom-loving society.

    Berlin should have woken up this morning with a massive hangover after a great party. Instead, the city woke up to the sobering realisation that yet another deadly attack has hit the country.

  9. More Berlin Pride events cancelled following attackpublished at 08:40 BST

    Organisers of the Christopher Street Day pride celebrations in Berlin have cancelled two events following the attack.

    A clean-up event due to take place at Tiergarten park and a breakfast market scheduled for Sunday morning have both been cancelled.

    The Christopher Street Day event itself, which usually attracts around one million people, was also cancelled in the aftermath of the attack.

    Crowds walk near a stage in front of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin during pride celebrations on SaturdayImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    People attend the Christopher Street Day pride event in Berlin on Saturday

  10. Day of great mourning for community, says Pride attendeepublished at 08:21 BST

    Man who attended Pride event speaks to journalists near sceneImage source, AFP

    A man who attended the Pride event describes feeling "overwhelmed" and "completely shaken" by news of the attack.

    "This is a day of great mourning for the community," he tells AFP.

    He also says the evacuation after the incident "went extremely well".

    "Of course, it came as a shock at first, but the evacuation went very smoothly and people followed the instructions quickly," he says.

  11. 'This is an attack on our society,' says Chancellor Merzpublished at 08:02 BST

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wearing blue suit and tieImage source, EPA

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has condemned the incident in Berlin as "a heinous act", saying hundreds of thousands of people were "peacefully celebrating" at the Pride event before it took place.

    "They wanted us to treat each other with kindness and tolerance. This is an attack on our society," he writes on X.

    He calls Germany "open and freedom-loving", adding that the country will "preserve and defend that".

    He says his thoughts are with the victims and their families, and says the act "will be investigated and pursued with the utmost severity".

    Revellers attend the annual Christopher Street Day Pride celebrationImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    People had been out enjoying the day of celebrations before the attack took place shortly before 22:00 local time (21:00 BST)

    Participants travel on a float during the annual Christopher Street Day Pride paradeImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    The annual Berlin Pride march attracts hundreds of thousands of people, demonstrating for and celebrating the rights of queer communities

  12. What we know so far about suspect as manhunt continuespublished at 07:49 BST

    Abdul B is pictured with short dark curly hair and a beard around his neckImage source, Berlin Police

    A manhunt has been widened to cover the whole of Berlin following the attack at a Pride event in the city centre.

    Berlin police say they are searching for a 21-year-old suspect who they have named as Abdul B.

    The force say he is "alleged to have injured several people with a moving vehicle in the Tiergarten area at approximately 10pm".

    "One or more people are believed to have subsequently fled the vehicle," it adds.

    The suspect is described as having a slim build, black hair, a black hoodie and white pants. He is around 1.9m tall.

    Officers have warned that he may be "armed and dangerous" and the public should not approach him under any circumstances.

  13. A timeline of how the incident unfoldedpublished at 07:25 BST

    A police officer carrying a machine gun (L) and a colleague talk near the scene where several people were injured on the sideline of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade in BerlinImage source, EPA/Shutterstock

    At around 22:00 local time (21:00 BST), Berlin Police report that a white vehicle has struck crowds at a Pride event in the German capital, with several people suffering life-threatening injuries.

    Police say an extensive manhunt is under way for one or more suspects and urge people to avoid the area.

    The event is cancelled and people are evacuated through the Brandenburg Gate, according to an attendee. Police close the area near Tiergarten park.

    At around 01:00, police say one person is dead and 16 injured, some with life-threatening injuries.

    Police tell AFP the suspected vehicle has been found abandoned in the park.

    At around 03:30, police say on X they have identified a suspect with Islamist links. No arrest has been made or motive suggested.

    The search area is widened to the entire city as thousands of police reportedly join the search.

    At around 06:30,the suspect is named by police as 21-year-old Abdul B.

    The police statement adds that several people are reported to have been injured with stabbing weapons in the attack, and that one or more people are believed to have fled the vehicle.

  14. White vehicle found abandoned in parkpublished at 07:15 BST

    A white vehicle suspected of being used in the attack has been seen inside the police cordon at Tiergarten park.

    Officers have been seen working near the damaged vehicle, which appears to have collided with a tree.

    The front of a white van has been completely crumpled as it collided with a treeImage source, Reuters
    A police officer walks past the crumpled front of a white vehicleImage source, Reuters
  15. Police cordon off park as search for suspect continuespublished at 06:52 BST

    A large section of Tiergarten park in Berlin remains cordoned off this morning after a vehicle was driven into the crowd at a Pride event on Saturday night.

    Officers have been seen searching the park with torches, as a manhunt for the suspect continues.

    People were seen embracing loved ones and wrapped in silver thermal blankets, as the fire service said around 30 were treated for shock at the scene.

    Two police vehicles are seen behind police tapeImage source, Reuters
    A man wrapped in a silver blanket walks away from the camera. A man next to him has an arm around himImage source, Reuters
    Two people are wrapped in silver security blankets. Another person hugs someone nearby as a police officer stands nearbyImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Several police officers are seen walking near some trees in Tiergarten parkImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Image caption,

    Police officers search inside the Tiergarten park near the scene

    A group of people stand next to a staircase to a station in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. A police van can be seen behind some tape to their leftImage source, Reuters
  16. Several people reported to have been stabbed in incidentpublished at 06:35 BST

    Several people are reported to have been stabbed in the attack, Berlin Police say in an update.

    Earlier this morning, police said one person has died and another 16 have been injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Berlin pride event, with several people suffering life-threatening injuries.

  17. Suspect named as 21-year-old Abdul B.published at 06:05 BST
    Breaking

    Berlin police have named the suspect as Abdul B., a 21-year-old man with a "slim build" and black hair. He is wearing a black hoodie and white trousers, they say.

    He is alleged to have injured several people in the Tiergarten area and is a fugitive, a statement reads.

    "One or more people are believed to have subsequently fled the vehicle," police continue.

    "Furthermore, several people are reported to have been injured with stabbing weapons," they add.

    A young man with a dark beard and black hair.Image source, Berlin Police
  18. What we do and don't knowpublished at 05:34 BST

    Police search the Tiergarten park at night with a torch.Image source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Image caption,

    Police searching the Tiergarten park using a torch.

    If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know about the incident at Berlin Pride on Saturday night.

    What we know

    • A white vehicle was driven into the crowd at a Berlin Pride event on Saturday at 22:00 local time
    • One person has died and another 16 were injured at the Tiergarten park
    • Police described the vehicle as "akin to a minivan or small SUV" and said they had found it abandoned in Tiergarten, where it appeared to have crashed into a tree, a spokesperson told AFP
    • Police are conducting an intensive manhunt across Berlin and have asked witnesses to send in photographs or videos
    • The search area includes the whole of Berlin, with thousands of police deployed and using helicopters and thermal imaging cameras
    • They have identified a suspect as a male "known" to them and "associated with the Islamist spectrum" - but he has not yet been apprehended
    • The mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, called the incident, "an attack on our free and open-minded society"
    • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it a "horrific act". He promised to fully investigate and punish the perpetrator

    What we don't know

    • The motivation or identity of the driver
    • Whether other suspects were involved
    • Why the suspect was already known to police
  19. What the police say about the suspectpublished at 04:58 BST

    In a statement published on social media, Berlin Police say they have identified a suspect who is a man and was known to police. They describe him as being "associated with the Islamist spectrum".

    They have not made an arrest or suggested a motive, and a search is still under way.