Bild: Berlin Pride Attacker Is Islamic State Supporter

According to German media, the main suspect in Saturday's attack on the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin is a 21-year-old man who sympathized with the terrorist organization Islamic State and had previously been convicted of planning a violent crime.

German police had earlier said there were indications that Abdul Ballout acted out of Islamist motives. The newspapers Bild and Der Spiegel reported that last year he attempted to travel to the Middle East with the aim of joining the self-proclaimed caliphate. In May of this year, a German court convicted him of planning a serious violent act threatening the state.

The attack took place on Saturday evening during one of the largest Pride parades in Europe. Shortly before 10 p.m., a white passenger car plowed into the crowd in Tiergarten Park in central Berlin and then crashed into a tree. One woman was killed in the incident, and 16 people were injured, three of whom are in critical condition.

The attack was condemned by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the governments of several European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

(bild, sab)