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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to hold those responsible accountable after a vehicle struck people near Berlin’s Gay Pride celebrations, killing one person and injuring 16 others.
The incident forced organisers to end one of Europe’s largest Pride events early and has intensified security concerns in Germany, where authorities have remained alert following a series of deadly vehicle and knife attacks in recent years.
Berlin police said a vehicle entered Tiergarten park shortly before 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday and “hit several people”, prompting a large-scale search operation. Fire department spokesman Dominik Pretz confirmed that one person had died, while 16 others were injured, including three people with life-threatening injuries. Around 30 additional people were treated at the scene for shock.
The crash happened several hundred metres from the main Pride event area, where hundreds of thousands of people had gathered earlier in the day for Christopher Street Day, Germany’s annual Pride celebration.
Police later found the suspected vehicle abandoned inside Tiergarten park and launched a major search involving helicopters equipped with thermal-imaging technology. Berlin police spokesman Florian Nath said no suspect had been located early Sunday and that the search had been expanded across the city.
The vehicle was described as resembling “a minivan or small SUV”, according to Nath.
Merz said he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt were receiving updates on what he described as a “horrific act”. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the incident, calling it a brutal attack on “a gathering for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin”.
Following the crash, organisers ended the Pride programme earlier than scheduled, while police instructed attendees to leave the area. Witnesses near the Brandenburg Gate said the crowd followed instructions and moved away from the park.
Emergency services deployed dozens of vehicles, while police teams searched the surrounding area. Nath said officers from several German states were supporting Berlin police, which had already deployed more than 2,000 personnel to secure the event.
The incident comes as Germany continues to confront security challenges in public spaces. Earlier this year, a stabbing near Berlin’s Holocaust memorial left a Spanish tourist seriously injured. In December 2024, a vehicle attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg killed six people and wounded hundreds.
Germany’s deadliest recent vehicle attack occurred in December 2016, when a truck was driven into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
The latest incident comes two months before Berlin voters elect a new state assembly, with Chancellor Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union facing competition from both the far-right Alternative for Germany and the far-left Linke party.
