Berlin Pride crash updates: Suspect shot dead by police after terror attack

Berlin Pride crash updates: Suspect shot dead by police after terror attack Police have shot dead the suspect, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, according to German media reports The suspect in the Berlin Pride festival attack that left one person dead and at least 25 others injured has been shot dead, according to German media. Police and prosecutors asked for help in finding 21-year-old Abdul Ballout after the attack on Saturday night. On Sunday evening, reports say he has now been shot and killed by police. Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said initial findings suggest "we have experienced an Islamist terror attack". On Sunday evening, police confirmed that 'several people' had now been taken into custody. Key Events German police have shot dead the man suspected of driving a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride festival, killing a woman and injuring at least 29 people. This concludes our live coverage of this incident. More pictures have emerged of heavily armed cops at the allotment where a SWAT team killed suspected Pride attacker Abdul Ballout. The alleged extremist was the subject of a massive manhunt last night and today with cops scouring the Berlin area for him following the attack on the Christopher Street Day march. Cops have been pictured at the allotment site in the west of Berlin where Abdul Ballout was shot by armed police earlier this afternoon. He was said to have been discovered hiding in a shed before charging at officers with a "stabbing weapon" and being gunned down. Police are still said to be investigating whether he acted alone or with an accomplice. Following the fatal police shooting of Abdul Ballout, investigators are still hunting for a possible accomplice, according to German media. “Witnesses to the rampage reported a possible passenger [in the van driven into crowds], which is why security authorities are still pursuing leads regarding potential accomplices,” Bild reports. Citing security sources, the paper said investigators had “temporarily detained” and questioned three people “from the suspect’s circle” before letting two of them go. Police spokesman Florian Nath told reporters earlier today: “We need to assign concrete suspicions to these individuals. If we cannot do that, then these individuals must be released after 48 hours.” Investigators have therefore not yet arrested another suspect, according to local news. The garden shed where Ballout was shot dead reportedly belongs to his father, german media has said. Witnesses reported that armed police took up positions around the allotment gardens around 3 pm and cordoned off the area. The raid took place around 6 pm with two volleys of shots fired. Carsten Barrthel, chairman of the allotment association, told Bild: "We have been informed that we are no longer allowed to enter the allotment garden today." Abdul Ballout was found by police thanks to information from his personal circle, German news reports. There has been an intense effort to find the suspected attacker after he allegedly drove a white Citroën van into marchers at Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride event last night. One woman was killed and 29 people were injured in the attack. Earlier it was reported that cops had made several arrests in connection with their investigations into the incident, with some people released and others kept in custody. Berlin Police have released a statement about the events which led to the shooting of Abdul Ballout. It reads: "Around 6 pm, the suspect in yesterday's attack in the Großer Tiergarten was located in an allotment garden facility in Spandau. "According to current findings, he is said to have rushed toward our emergency forces with a stabbing weapon, after which police firearms were used by our SEK Berlin. "Despite immediate resuscitation measures initiated by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene." The suspect Ballout was shot during the police operation and died at 6:34 pm local time (5.34pm UK time), Bild reports. Witnesses reported hearing two volleys of gunfire a few minutes apart during the raid on the garden shed in Berlein. A SWAT team operation led to a shootout in a garden shed, Bild reports. The police officers were attacked and returned fire, the German outlet has said. Berlin's Interior Senator Iris Spranger, who is currently meeting with the command of the emergency services, thanked the police, saying: "I am grateful to the security authorities for finding the attacker so quickly. That is a tremendous achievement." The fugitive attacker Abdul Ballout has been shot dead by police in an allotment garden in Berlin-Spandau, German news outlet Die Zeit reports. Hundreds of people have attended a spontaneous vigil at the Brandenburg Gate, near to where the incident occurred. Members of Berlin’s queer community have returned to the area for an impromptu demonstration today with speakers blasting extremism in all its forms and calling on the government for more support. Several people have been arrested in connection with the attack, according to local media reports. Some of those taken into custody have now been released, while others remain held, news outlets have cited a police spokesperson as saying. It is still unclear if authorities think named suspect Abdul Ballout acted alone of if he had accomplices. If police cannot assign suspicions of a crime to those detained, then they must be released within 48 hours, cops told reporters today. None of those hospitalised after the attack are in a critical, life-threatening condition, the German police have said. The fire brigade said last night three victims were in a life-threatening condition. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said “extremists have no place in our society” in a speech this afternoon. Speaking in front of St. Mary's Church, where a service is being held for the victims of the attack, the chancellor said: “Let us not be afraid". He added that the attacks had only have one goal, to "divide our society" and take away "openness and freedom". Authorities were doing everything to arrest the perpetrator or perpetrators and would "act decisively but also thoughtfully,” Merz said. "These extremists have no place in our society," he continued, adding that Germany would not let the "poison of terrorism" affect its society. Calling for unity, the German leader said the “freedom, openness and liberal approach” in German” society would be protected. The German justice minister has said federal investigators will be taking over the investigation. Police are reportedly conducting multiple investigations, combing through photos and videos from the event while other teams actively search for the suspect. In an update this afternoon Berlin Police said: “Our forces are conducting an intensive manhunt for the suspect and are doing everything they can to quickly and thoroughly investigate this horrific act.” German Federal Police have told members of the public: “If you encounter the suspect, immediately dial 110! Do not approach him, he may be armed and dangerous!” Mourners have gathered at Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin to pay their respects to the victims of yesterday's attack. Members of the public have left flowers at the scene while a large sign has been placed at the top of the square saying "protect queer lives". Authorities say evidence points to the incident being an "Islamist terror attack" and that a manhunt for the suspect, Abdul B, is ongoing. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner has described Saturday as a "dark day" for Berlin, which was showing itself "as a city of freedom". Wegner adds that the incident "is an alleged Islamist attack on our way of living together, on our liberal democracy, on our openness, on our freedom". Dobrindt says the government "cannot rule out" the possibility of "copycat attacks". Speaking about upcoming Pride marches across Germany, he said all measures "should be considered" to prevent other incidents - and that security measures may be heightened. "We cannot rule out the possibility of copycat attacks," he adds. "This is not typical in these circumstances, however, it can't be ruled out." Alexander Dobrindt, the German interior minister, said of the incident: "Everything points towards this being an Islamist terror attack." Dobrindt said the suspect, named as 21-year-old Abdul B, had "previously drawn attention to himself through a high volume of criminal offences, radicalisation and affiliation with the Islamist scene." Alexander Dobrindt says police in Germany are using "all its resources" to hunt down the suspect. "The search for the subject is the key focus now," he says. Dobrindt adds that he "may not be able to say too much more on some subjects" as the investigation remains ongoing. An estimated 29 people were injured in last night's attack in Berlin, Germany's interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, said at a press conference this afternoon. Dobrindt added that the suspect used a vehicle to drive into a crowd and then a "stabbing weapon, a beating weapon, probably a machete" to attack members of the public, causing serious injuries. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says he is "horrified by the appalling attack in Berlin" and has spoken to Germany's foreign minister "to convey the UK's solidarity". "We stand with Germany," he said in a post on X. The number of injured people has risen to at least 25, with three victims in a critical condition, reports digitaldaily.de. One person was killed in the attack. A manhunt for one or more suspects, including one who has been named as 21-year-old Abdul B, is underway, police say. At least four people injured in last night's Pride parade have been released from hospital. They were being treated along with four other casualties at Germany's largest hospital, the Charite. The remaining four patients are being treated in the intensive care unit but are not in a critical condition, a statement by the hospital said. Police have been spotted outside an apartment in Bissingzeile, where the suspect allegedly lives, around 1km away from the scene of the crash in the Tiergarten. Police said the suspect fled the scene and has not yet been located by officers. Wes Streeting says last night's attack shows why Pride marches are necessary. The defence secretary said incidents like yesterday's are "becoming far too common on our television screens". "I would say to people, especially at a time when Pride marches have come in for some challenge: why do we have Pride marches? Why are they necessary in this country? Hasn't this all changed?," Streeting told Sky News. "In many respects, things are different and better now than they've ever been [...] But hate crimes are also on the rise. There are lots of people who don't accept diversity and difference in our society. "And that's why pride is a celebration. But it's also a protest against those who do not accept life in the 21st century, do not accept people loving each other in same-sex relationships and in the very worst cases would seek to do us harm." Asked about possible threats to the upcoming Brighton Pride parade, he added that the event would be "well policed" and "get the balance right in terms of policing". "The home secretary will [...] make the right determinations around what kind of policing presence we need," he said. A community vigil is expected to be held for the victims near Brandenburg Gate in Berlin's city centre this afternoon. D-Dur Dykes pop choir said it was planning to hold the event at 2pm local time (1pm UK time). There is a heavy police presence in Berlin this morning as investigations into last night's attack continue. A large cordon remains in place at Tiergarten, where officers have been pictured examining a damaged vehilce that was abandoned at the scene. Members of the public have also been seen laying floral tributes nearby. The suspect in the Berlin Pride attack has been named by German newspaper Bild as Abdul Ballout. The newspaper, citing security sources, reports that the 21-year-old is a German citizen of Lebanese origin who was born in Berlin in 2005. Bild also claims he was previously known to police, had been released from juvenille detention in May and allegedly supported the Islamic State. German police have not publicly confirmed the suspect's full identity or the information reported by Bild. Germany's federal prosecutors are in contact with investigators in Berlin following last night's attack, a spokesperson for the office told German news agency DPA. The country's top prosecution authority typically assume control of cases involving suspected terrorism, however, they have not formally taken over the case at this stage.