1 Dead, at Least 17 Injured After Car Drives into Crowd During Pride Parade

A van drove through a Berlin park during the city’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride event, injuring at least 17 people and killing one. The vehicle drove through Tiergarten park at around 10 p.m. local time on July 25 and hit multiple people before colliding with a tree.

Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty

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A van drove through a Berlin park during the city’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride event, injuring at least 17 people and killing one

The vehicle drove through Tiergarten park at around 10 p.m. local time on Saturday, July 25, and hit multiple people before colliding with a tree

“[The car] was empty, ⁠which is why we are currently working intensively to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators,” a police spokesperson said

One person was killed and at least 17 others were injured after a van drove through a crowd at Berlin’s annual Christopher Street Day Pride event.

Police said a white van drove through Tiergarten park — located just off the event’s parade route — around 10 p.m. local time on Saturday, July 25, and hit multiple people before colliding with a tree, per the Associated Press, the BBC and Reuters.

“[The car] was empty, ⁠which is why we are currently working intensively to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators,” a police spokesperson told Reuters.

“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” police spokesperson Florian Nath added in a video statement shared on X by the German capital’s police force.

RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty

“At this point, we don’t know anything about possible motives, the identity of the perpetrator or the perpetrators, or anything of that nature,” another police spokesperson, Alexander Klute, told AP.

Photos taken at the scene showed police, paramedics and other first responders assisting victims and attendees in the aftermath of the crash.

In his video statement, Nath said that several of the injured victims have “life-threatening injuries.”

He added that more than 2,200 police personnel from across the country were deployed following the incident, and investigators were still unsure whether there was one or multiple perpetrators.

“We are now piecing together the facts based on the evidence found at the scene. The search radius covers the entire city,” Nath said. “We need to use daylight tomorrow to meticulously examine the evidence.”

RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner called the incident “an attack on our free and open society.”

“After a peaceful and colorful CSD, the assembly for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal way. Berlin is the city of freedom — and our freedom has been attacked in the most horrific way today,” the mayor wrote on X. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends. I thank the emergency services who were immediately on site and did everything in their power. And I trust the police and security authorities, who will investigate at full speed.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also condemned the incident in a statement to German outlet DW, calling it a “horrific act” and stating that he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt would ensure “this horrific act is fully investigated and punished.”

Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty

Christopher Street Day is one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations and brings thousands of attendees to the city each year.

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The event commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City and often features political activism as well as celebrations and parties.

Before the incident on Saturday night, Christopher Street Day attendees marched through the city and cheered for the 80 floats that took part in the parade, AP reported.

RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty

Police eventually canceled the rest of the Pride events planned for Saturday, including interrupting a band’s concert. Visitors were urged to go home and to avoid passing through Tiergarten park on their way.

Berlin authorities have opened a hotline for anyone who is missing friends or family members.

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