Merz after CSD attack: 'We will defend freedom'

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) confirmed today that a woman was killed in Saturday evening’s attack on Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) and 29 people were injured, some seriously, a number of them critically. On the fringes of the event, a car ploughed into a crowd of people in the so-called Tiergarten park. The Pride event was then called off. According to Dobrindt, the attack has been classified as an “Islamist terrorist attack”.

As the minister explained in a statement at the scene at midday on Sunday, the suspected attacker not only used the van as a weapon, but is said to have gone after people with a machete afterwards. One woman was killed and 29 others injured. Dobrindt said he was “stunned and deeply shaken”.

According to Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, the attack took place outside the official CSD route. The demonstration route itself was not affected. However, a large number of people were still gathered just a few hundred metres away, either leaving the event or spending time there.

As a spokesperson for the Charité hospital told the German Press Agency (dpa), four patients have already been discharged. Four more are still being treated in intensive care; however, “at this point in time” none of them is in a life-threatening condition.

Chancellor Merz: “We will defend freedom”

On Sunday afternoon, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) attended a church service for the victims and their relatives at St Mary’s Church on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. Alongside the chancellor, Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) were also present.

Before the service, Merz said that “we will defend freedom” and will not “allow this poison of terrorism and this poison directed against our freedom to spread further in our society”.

Merz announced that every effort would be made to apprehend those responsible as quickly as possible. The federal government would then examine the consequences of the attack and take appropriate decisions. The aim, he said, was to act with calm deliberation but also with determination. Perpetrators of such crimes have “no place at the heart of our society”, Merz said. He also stressed that the freedom of society would be defended regardless of party-political differences.

Who is the suspect?

The suspect, Abdul B., a 21-year-old German national of Lebanese origin, is still on the run. According to Dobrindt, the man was born in Germany in 2005. He was already known to the authorities for numerous offences, as research by the SZ, NRD and WDR has shown.

He was classified by the security authorities as radicalised and prone to violence, and is also reported to have tried to travel to Syria to join the terrorist organisation “Islamic State” (IS). The reports further state that last year he was arrested at Berlin airport on his return journey from Lebanon on suspicion of preparing a terrorist offence. He remained in pre-trial detention until May 2026.

Abdul B. was in a deradicalisation programme

As the daily newspaper Die Welt reported, the suspected attacker was supposed to take part in deradicalisation counselling. However, it had not yet been decided whether the 21-year-old would be permanently admitted to the programme, as he was still in the so-called clearing phase, during which it was to be assessed whether more intensive support would be appropriate.

Up to now there had only been two meetings, with a further one scheduled for the coming week. The appointments initially took place on a voluntary basis. According to the reports, Abdul B. appeared polite and cooperative to the counsellors, but doubts arose as to whether he would genuinely engage with the deradicalisation process.

In a post on X, Berlin police warned people not to approach the suspected attacker, as he may be armed and dangerous.

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