Berlin police say one person was killed and several others were injured after a car drove into a crowd near the Pride Parade
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A car plowed into a crowd during the famous Berlin Pride parade on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 15, prompting police to halt the event in the German capital hours after it began.
Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. Firefighters and ambulances were out with dozens of emergency workers at the scene to look for the victims.
According to the police, the white van entered the Tiergarten park, which was just next to the Pride route, and hit several people before colliding with a tree. Police could not say how many officers were deployed at the scene but “it was definitely a lot of officers.” They said they were looking for the suspects.
“We are conducting a thorough investigation to find possible suspects,” said a police officer in a short video posted on the Berlin police account on X.
Police spokesman Alexander Klute later told the Associated Press that “at this point, we don’t know anything about any possible motives, who the perpetrator or perpetrators are, or anything of that nature.”
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a show of pride and pride, the assembly of tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way.”
“This is an attack on our free and united society,” Wegner said, adding that his thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends. “I trust the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
Hundreds of thousands of people came to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at the city’s Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It is one of Europe’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ festivals.
The Pride event in front of the famous Brandenburg Gate in the city of Berlin was canceled at around 10:15 pm local time, and the band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People have been urged to go home and avoid taking the route through the Tiergarten park.
Before the incident, people celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and enjoying about 80 floats that participated in the parade.
Julian Miethig, who attended events at the Brandenburg Gate in the past, said he was just about to go to the party when he heard from a friend that “something bad happened there, and there are a lot of fire trucks, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances.”
He said he went to the Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could happen at Berlin’s Pride.
“It’s a dark day for the community,” said Miethig.
