Who is Abdul B? The Berlin Pride terror attack suspect with a criminal past

A woman was killed and at least 29 others were injured after a van was driven into a crowd at an LGBTQ+ event in Berlin on Saturday night. Police believe the attack on the crowd at Christopher Street Day closing party at Brandenburg gate was an act of Islamist terrorism.Berlin Police said the suspect, previously named as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, was fatally shot ⁠at ⁠an allotment garden complex in the city's Spandau suburb at about 6pm following a manhunt.

Here is everything we know so far about the attack and the suspect. open image in galleryPeople gather outside the Brandenburg Gate for a demonstration in support of LGBTQ+ after a car rammed into a crowd at the Pride March in Berlin (AP)What happened in the Berlin attack?The attack took place at around 10pm on Saturday July 25 at an LGBTQ+ event in Berlin.

Berlin police received a report that a white vehicle had been driven into crowds at the Christopher Street Day closing party, where hundreds of thousands of people had gathered at Tiergarten park, near the iconic Brandenburg Gate.People were also stabbed in the incident and it’s believed the blade may have been a machete. After police received reports the event was cancelled and a performance was abruptly brought to an end.

open image in galleryA police officer inspects a car that was allegedly driven into a crowd on the outskirts of the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin (AFP/Getty)Organisers advised crowds to start walking towards an exit with “evacuation” projected onto a large screen. By 1am, police confirmed a woman had been killed and that people had been injured. Later, police revealed they found a vehicle that they believed had been used in the attack.

Then by 3.30am police said they had identified a suspect with Islamist links and began a search. On Sunday at 6pm, the suspect, previously named as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, was fatally shot ⁠at ⁠an allotment garden complex in the city's Spandau suburb following a manhunt, Berlin police said.

Where did the attack happen?The attack did not take place along the parade route but in Tiergarten park, a few hundred metres from the Christopher Street Day closing party at Brandenburg gate.The van drove into a crowd that was likely a mix of festival-goers and other locals or visitors.

Who is the suspect in the Berlin Pride attack?German authorities on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a fugitive suspect in the van ramming near Berlin’s Pride festival that left one woman dead.Police and prosecutors asked for help in finding the 21-year-old, whom they identified as Abdul Ballout, a German-born man of Lebanese heritage.

They said he is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle, and that one or more people apparently then left that vehicle. Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added.Sunday’s notice warned the public to avoid “direct contact” with the suspect, saying that he may be armed and dangerous.

Police had said earlier that they had identified a suspect who has ties to Islamic groups in the German capital. Later at 6pm on Sunday police confirmed the suspect had been fatally shot.Berlin police said in a post on X: “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.”open image in galleryPolice said the 21-year-old, whom they identified as Abdul Ballout, was fatally shot (Reuters)What do we know about the suspect's criminal past?

Abdul Ballout, was a German Citizen who was born and raised in Berlin and has had multiple convictions. Germany’s interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said the suspect was previously sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison, which was switched to a non-custodial sentence due to a legal complaint.The public prosecutor's office also released details about his previous criminal history.

In February 2022, he was convicted by juvenile court for assault and robbery. He was found guilty of assaulting someone at a Berlin high school in September 2019. The suspect was also previously convicted of robbing headphones in October 2020 with an accomplice at Innsbrucker Platz.