One person has been killed and 17 injured, with some in life-threatening condition, after a vehicle mowed down a crowd near Berlin's Pride celebrations on Saturday evening, setting off a manhunt for those responsible, the police said. Hours after the apparent attack, many details remained unclear, but police said the vehicle struck multiple people after charging into the city's central Tiergarten park close to the Brandenburg Gate. They later said they had identified an Islamist as a suspect and were seeking his arrest.
"According to our latest information, the vehicle drove ... into the Tiergarten around 10pm (2000 GMT), injuring several people in the process, and then came to a standstill after hitting a tree here in the Tiergarten," a police spokesperson at the scene said. "It was empty, which is why we are currently working intensively to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators." Eight seriously injured Among the injured, eight had serious injuries and of those, three were in life-threatening condition, a fire brigade spokesperson said.
"We have now identified a suspected perpetrator. Measures against this suspected perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, are underway. However, this suspected perpetrator is known to the police as a member of the Islamist scene here in Berlin," the police spokesperson told reporters.
The police said the vehicle was white, describing it as possibly a car or minivan or minibus. Tabloid newspaper Bild cited a witness as saying it was a van and that a man emerged from it and fled on foot. Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered peacefully in the German capital for the annual Christopher Street Day celebrations, one of Europe's largest LGBTQ events, before the apparent attack brought it to an abrupt end.
A large number of emergency service vehicles were at the scene. Read: US immigration agents involved in another fatal shooting "It's one of the worst days for the queer community, and a day I personally hoped I'd never have to experience... I'm shocked," said Julian Miethig, who attended the event.
Christopher Street Day draws hundreds of thousands of people to the German capital each year. The event commemorates the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York and combines a parade with political demands for equality, inclusion and protection against discrimination. Series of car attacks First held in West Berl…
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