Police hunt suspect in Berlin ramming attack as Germany grapples with safety fears

The suspect wanted for the car ramming attack on a Berlin LGBTQ+ Pride parade on Saturday remains on the run today. The attack at one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ events left one dead and 16 injured. 

German police have identified the suspect as 21-year-old Abdul B. German privacy laws only identify suspects with the initial of their surname. Police described him as being part of Berlin’s “Islamist scene” and someone who is known to authorities, but said they are still working to establish a motive. 

In a wanted notice issued Sunday, police warned that the man may be armed and dangerous and said the public should avoid “direct contact.” The suspect’s heavily damaged vehicle remained at the site of the attack on Sunday morning. 

Authorities are also working to determine if he acted alone. Investigators believe that one or more people may have left the vehicle after it came to a stop. Some victims also suffered stab wounds, raising the possibility that others were involved in the attack, but authorities have not confirmed that. 

Berlin’s fire service said that of the injured, three have life-threatening injuries, eight were seriously injured, and five had slight injuries. Police have not identified the deceased victim. 

Before the attack, huge crowds had spent hours celebrating peacefully. The event, in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, featured dozens of floats, live music and a march. 

“It’s a dark day for the community,” said Julian Miethig, who had attended the event and been planning to go to an afterparty when he heard that “something bad happened” at the parade. 

Rise in ramming attacks 

The attack is the latest in a series that have left the country grappling with questions about public safety. 

Six people were killed and hundreds injured when a car plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg in December 2024. Two months later, a car drove into trade union demonstrators in Munich, killing a woman and her two-year-old daughter. Two more people were killed in March 2025 when a car rammed into a crowd in Mannheim. 

The attacks have different alleged motives, but together have kept immigration, security and extremism at the center of German politics. The debates have also fueled support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, and put pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Germany’s mainstream political parties as they try to convince voters they can keep the country safe. 

Merz called Saturday’s ramming “an attack on freedom” and vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice. 

“What an abhorrent act in Berlin,” Merz wrote on social media. He added that Germany loves freedom, “and we will preserve and defend that.”