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.
The alleged terrorist, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, rushed at police with a weapon before being shot, officials said. The suspect was tracked down to an allotment garden in Spandau, West Berlin.
Suspect's Background and Manhunt
Authorities had previously issued a wanted notice and warned people against approaching Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, saying he may be armed and dangerous.
Polizei Berlin said: "At around 6pm, the suspect in yesterday's attack in the Grosser Tiergarten was located in an allotment garden in Spandau. He is said to have rushed toward our emergency forces with a stabbing weapon, after which police firearms were used. Despite immediate resuscitation measures, he died at the scene." Witnesses reported hearing two volleys of gunfire a few minutes apart during the raid.
Official Reactions and Attack Details
Berlin's interior senator Iris Spranger thanked the police, saying: "I am grateful to the security authorities for finding the attacker so quickly." Earlier, interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said the suspect had come to authorities' attention because of numerous crimes and "radicalisation and belonging to the Islamist scene" in Berlin. He added: "Everything we see here points to us dealing with an Islamic terror attack."
The attack occurred at around 10pm on Saturday a few hundred yards from a party near the Brandenburg Gate that was supposed to close out the city's Pride festival. According to police, a white van drove into the Tiergarten Park and hit several people in a crowd that was likely a mix of festivalgoers and other visitors before colliding with a tree.
Impact and Memorial
British attendee Ashley Jump, 26, attended Saturday's parade but left before the attack. They returned to leave flowers at a memorial, saying: "They'll never erase us, we'll never be gone. As long as humanity has existed, we've existed. We will not be removed."
