A vehicle plows into a crowd at an LGBTQ+ event in Berlin, Germany, on Saturday (local time), killing at least one person and injuring 14. [AP]
A vehicle plows into a crowd at an LGBTQ+ event in Berlin, Germany, on Saturday (local time), killing at least one person and injuring 14. [AP]

A van rammed into a crowd at an LGBTQ+ event in Berlin on Saturday (local time), killing at least one person and injuring 14, major international news outlets reported.

According to police, a white van entered Tiergarten park in Berlin around 10 p.m. near the route where Christopher Street Day (CSD) participants had been marching, struck multiple people and then crashed into a tree.

Some of the injured sustained serious wounds and are in critical condition. Emergency responders treated the victims at the scene.

The exact motive and the identity of the suspect have not yet been confirmed, and police are searching for the perpetrator.

Police spokesperson Florian Nath said in a video posted to the Berlin Police's X account that authorities were conducting "an intensive search to find the prime suspects."

The suspect fled on foot after abandoning the vehicle. Police told AFP that the vehicle believed to have been used in the attack was found unattended.

Following the incident, police and event organizers canceled the festival entirely on safety grounds.

Police urged attendees to leave immediately and return home, and cordoned off the zone where the casualties occurred.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack as "an assault on our free and open society," saying the gathering "brought together for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was brutally attacked." He offered his condolences to the victims and their families.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to ensure the perpetrators face the full force of the law. In a statement, he said he would "push hard to ensure this horrific act is thoroughly investigated and punished."

Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered for the Berlin CSD event, one of the largest LGBTQ+ festivals in Europe. Before the attack, participants had been peacefully enjoying the festival — marching through the city center and dancing to music, according to the AP.


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