Police kill Islamist suspect in deadly Berlin Pride ramming

Abdul Balo, 21, was killed in a shootout after special forces surrounded a hut in Berlin-Spandau; the attack left one woman dead and 29 people wounded

German police on Sunday killed the suspected Islamist attacker accused of driving into crowds at Berlin’s Pride celebrations, killing one woman and wounding 29 people.
German media identified the suspect as 21-year-old Abdul Balo, who was shot dead during an exchange of fire with officers at a hut in Berlin’s Spandau district.
Abdul Balo and the ramming attack scene 
(Photo: Reuters, Berlin Police)
According to the German newspaper Bild, police launched a major operation around the hut in a garden allotment, with numerous special forces units surrounding the compound.
Officers raided the site shortly afterward. A shootout then broke out between police and the suspect, who was killed at the scene.
The attack occurred Saturday night, when a white van was driven into a crowd of Pride participants near Berlin’s Tiergarten Park.
One woman was killed and 29 people were wounded, several of them seriously. Other victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
Police said the vehicle appeared to have been deliberately driven toward revelers before leaving the scene, triggering a major manhunt across the German capital.
The closing event of the Pride celebrations near the Brandenburg Gate was halted following the attack, and large numbers of police officers and emergency personnel were deployed to the area.
Authorities later said the suspect had been identified and was known to police as a member of Berlin’s Islamist scene.
“We have now identified a suspected perpetrator,” a police spokesperson said before his death. “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.”
Investigators examined the vehicle’s movements, surveillance footage and witness testimony while searching for the suspect and working to determine how the attack was planned and whether anyone else was involved.
Police have not yet released a full account of the raid or formally detailed the suspect’s motive.
Berlin Pride is one of Germany’s largest LGBTQ events and draws large crowds each year. The attack sent participants fleeing in panic and cast a shadow over celebrations across the city.