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Berlin Pride attack suspect shot and killed by police

cultureJul 27, 202624379

Police shot and killed Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese heritage, after he rushed at officers with a knife in Spandau following a mass attack near Tiergarten park that left one woman dead and 29 people injured. Authorities say a white van was driven into a crowd on Ahornsteig just before 22:00 on Saturday and that Ballout then carried out stabbings; prosecutors and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as likely an Islamist terror attack. Prosecutors disclosed that Ballout travelled via Turkey to Lebanon in May 2025 intending to join Islamic State, was arrested in Lebanon in July 2025 and later returned to Germany, where he faced multiple prior convictions and in May was sentenced to one year and 10 months for preparing a serious act of violence with the sentence deferred under supervision. German media report the injured are no longer in life-threatening condition. Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the scene and pledged to defend openness and freedom, and Dobrindt said Germany would raise its threat level and brief other states to review security for major events. Christopher Street Day celebrations and planned events at Tiergarten were canceled and some people held a vigil at the Brandenburg Gate later on Sunday.

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