Likely 'Islamist Terror Attack' at Berlin Pride, Official says
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A massive manhunt is under way in Germany after a suspected "Islamist terror attack" at a Berlin Pride event on Saturday night
One woman is dead and at least 29 injured after a van drove into a crowd – the suspect then attacked people with a blade that "might have been a machete"
He has been named as Abdul Ballout; a German citizen of Lebanese background who was known to police and had previously "committed a number of crimes"
"We cannot rule out the possibility of copycat attacks," warns Germany's interior minister, as he announces that the country's threat level will be raised
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz promises the attack will be investigated with the "utmost severity" – watch live above
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, writes our reporter in Berlin
Edited by Tinshui Yeung and Craig Hoyle, with Michael Steininger reporting from Berlin
Merz then addresses participants in Pride events, appealing to them not to be intimidated.
"These attacks only have one goal," he says: to "divide our society" and take away "openness and freedom".
Officials will do everything in their power to arrest the perpetrator or perpetrators, Merz says, adding that they will "act decisively but also thoughtfully".
"These extremists have no place in our society," he goes on, saying Germany will not allow the "poison of terrorism" to affect its society.
"We will defend the freedom and openness of our lives," the chancellor says.
Merz begins by saying it is a "very sad occasion" that brings people here.
His thoughts are with the victims and loved ones of the "Islamist terrorist attack last night".
He wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
The chancellor then thanks the first responders for their "exemplary" fast response.
"They prevented things from getting worse yesterday," he adds.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is delivering an update following last night's deadly attack in Berlin.
He's speaking in front of St. Mary's Church, where a service is being held in tribute to the attack's victims.
You can watch live above, and we'll bring you updates here.
New pictures from Berlin show police searching an apartment, which Reuters and AFP say is connected to the Pride attack on Saturday night.
The property is on Bissingzeile street in the Tiergarten neighbourhood, not far from where the attack happened.
The search for the suspect is still under way. Police have named him as Abdul Ballout, but say it remains unclear whether the alleged attacker had accomplices.
More than a thousand officers have been working on the case since last night, police say.
Armed police stand near the scene of the attack in Berlin on Saturday night
Officials revealed more details about last night's attack in a press conference a short while ago. Here's what we now know about how it unfolded.
The attack started shortly before 22:00 local time (21:00 BST).
The suspect first "rammed into a crowd with a car", killing one person and severely injuring others, according to Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
The suspect then launched a knife attack with "some type of blade" – Dobrindt says it might have been a machete. Other victims were "severely injured" in the knife attack.
The incident did not take place inside the Pride event but a few hundred metres away, Dobrindt says.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner says there was a "high level of security", meaning the perpetrator wasn't able to access the festival site itself.
One person has died and 29 are injured, some of them seriously, Dobrindt says.
Abdul Ballout has been named as the main suspect in the Berlin Pride attack that killed a woman and injured at least 29 others.
Here is what we know about him so far:
We're now getting translated remarks from Florian Nath, the Berlin police spokesperson who has been speaking to reporters.
Nath says that one or more suspects were involved in the attack, and there are many possibilities.
"We don't know what supporters were involved or accomplices," he explains.
Nath adds that more than a thousand police officers have been working on the case since Saturday night.
A large vigil is taking place at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, a short distance from where last night's ramming and stabbing happened.
People can be seen holding various Pride flags while music plays, as they stand together in the wake of the deadly attack.
We're now hearing from Florian Nath, a spokesperson for Berlin police.
He is giving an update to the press in German, we will bring you any relevant lines.
Michael Steininger
Reporting from Berlin
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters in Berlin that last night’s attack on the Berlin Pride march was with high probability an act of Islamist terrorism.
The suspect is a 21-year-old German national with Lebanese roots, named Abdul Ballout.
The suspect, who has an extensive criminal past, is on the run, a massive manhunt is underway with police searching train stations, airports and border crossings.
One person died and at least 29 people were injured, according to Dobrindt.
Several people were severely injured when they were rammed by the van, others when Ballout exited the car and attacked them with a machete.
The minister pointed out that the attack took place outside the perimeter of the Pride event.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner says the incident was an "alleged Islamist attack on our way of living together"
We’ve just been hearing from Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner. Here’s what we learned:
The mayor says there was a "high level of security" at the Pride event.
Kai Wegner says he was asked whether the protection was sufficient, but says the festival site "was not attacked because the perpetrator wasn't able to make it there, because that had been secured by police".
However, he says that 400m from the event site, there were people on their way to or from the event, as well as others walking around.
He says they now need to act "as quickly as possible to investigate the perpetrator or perpetrators".
They’re working with police nationwide to track down the suspect.
He ends by thanking the organisers of the Pride event.
The official update is now finished – we will bring you a recap of what has been said soon.
Wegner goes on to say that the attack "is an alleged Islamist attack on our way of living together, on our liberal democracy, on our openness, on our freedom".
He says there will be a memorial service and people will walk together to Brandenburg Gate.
He says the flags are at half-mast at city hall.
The interior minister ends his comments, with Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner now speaking.
Wegner says yesterday was a "dark day", but before that it was a "bright, colourful day, showing just how open and diverse the city is".
He says Berlin was showing itself "as a city of freedom" and that "colourful is actually a lovely thing to be".
They had help from many organisations, alongside the fire brigade and police, and he thanks them for working together so quickly – they were "on the scene immediately", he adds.
"We cannot rule out the possibility of copycat attacks," warns the interior minister.
He announces that Germany's threat level will be raised as a result.
The minister describes the attack's aftermath as a "horrific scene", recounting how the van drove through a crowd of pedestrians, causing serious injuries.
Dobrindt then thanks all those "brave people" who stepped in to ensure there were no more deaths.
Giving more details about the attack, he says it took place a few hundred metres away from where the Pride festival was being held.
He says the people at the scene were either in Tiergarten park or on their way to or from the Pride festival.
He says mobile phones have been found and handed to investigators. They’ll be searched, but he can’t give any further details at the moment.
Dobrindt says the suspect had previously been sentenced.
Outlining the sentence, he says the suspect was given one year and 10 months in prison in Berlin, but the sentence was commuted to parole.
The public prosecutor had tried to appeal that decision, the minister says.
Dobrindt says: "The suspect we are dealing with had already been known to police."
He says the suspect had committed a number of crimes, had previously been radicalised and was known for being part of the Islamist scene.
Dobrindt adds that the suspect is a German citizen of Lebanese background. He says the suspect was born in Germany in 2004 and his mother was naturalised as a German citizen in 2002.
The interior minister says one person has died and he understands that there are 29 injured, some of them seriously.
Alexander Dobrindt says the suspect "rammed into a crowd with a car" last night.
The suspect "then attacked the crowd with some type of blade, it might have been a machete, and also severely injured those people".
Dobrindt adds that "everything we are seeing here indicates that we have experienced an Islamist terror attack".
He says the suspect is on the run and that a large number of officers from Berlin police and the federal police are working to find him.
The German interior minister says he is "dumbstruck" and "deeply shaken by these horrific events".
He says their thoughts, grief and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones and the injured.
"We hope there is a chance that those still fighting for their lives will be able to overcome this difficult situation," he adds.
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