One person was killed and at least 15 others were wounded Saturday night after a vehicle struck a crowd near Berlin Pride events in the German capital, according to local authorities. Several of the wounded were in serious condition.
Berlin police said the ramming was deliberate. The vehicle was later found abandoned, and a manhunt was underway for its occupants.
Vehicle-ramming attack at Berlin Pride in Germany
(Photo: Reuters)
The incident prompted organizers to halt the parade’s closing event near Brandenburg Gate as large numbers of police officers, firefighters and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene.
Local media reported that the vehicle struck the crowd at around 10 p.m. near Lenné Street, close to the entrance of a tunnel beside Tiergarten Park.
German newspaper Bild cited a witness as saying that a white van sped into the crowd before one person emerged from the vehicle and fled on foot.
Authorities activated a mass-casualty emergency response, with 44 firefighters and rescue personnel sent to the scene.
Shortly afterward, the performance at the parade’s closing event was stopped. The word “evacuation” appeared on large screens, and organizers urged the crowd to leave “calmly and in an orderly manner.”
Participants were instructed to head toward Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Central Station and to avoid the Victory Column, Tiergarten Park and Potsdamer Platz.
Hundreds of thousands of people had taken part in the parade throughout the day. The event, held in Berlin for the 48th time, included around 80 vehicles and dozens of marching groups.
The procession began on Leipziger Street and passed through Potsdamer Platz and Nollendorfplatz on its way to the Victory Column and Brandenburg Gate.
This year’s parade was held under the slogan “Taking a Stand Is Hot.”
Earlier in the day, four parade participants were lightly wounded in a separate incident after airsoft pellets were fired at them from an apartment along the route. Two police officers were also targeted but were not hurt.
Authorities said there was no indication at this stage that the shooting incident was connected to the vehicle ramming.