(CNN) — A van plowed into a crowd at Berlin’s biggest LGBTQ+ event late on Saturday, killing one person and wounding 16, with a police manhunt now underway for the suspected attacker.
Police said the van drove into people walking in the Tiergarten park in the center of the German capital, next to where thousands had gathered to celebrate the Pride event.
The suspect was known to police “as a member of Islamic circles” in Berlin, the Associated Press reported, citing a police spokesman, who did not specify the nature of those Islamic circles. CNN has reached out to Berlin police to ask if the attack is being treated as an act of terrorism.
Witnesses described hearing “a dull bang” as chaos erupted at Tiergarten, next to the route that the Pride march had passed along earlier.
Police said a van drove through the park shortly before 10 p.m. and hit several people. It was later found crashed into a tree and abandoned.
“There was a dull bang… after that, there were a few noises,” an eyewitness said.
“At first, we couldn’t make out what the screams were, because of the party, the music, and the atmosphere.
“We only realized later exactly what was going on, when the police cleared the park with machine guns and asked us to go home.”
The suspect, named by police as Abdul B., 21, is “alleged to have injured several people with a moving vehicle,” according to a statement later published on the website of Berlin police.
The statement also said one or several people were thought to have exited the vehicle following the impact, and that “furthermore, several people are reported to have been injured by stabbing weapons.”
‘Intensive search’
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade, the AP reported.
In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately once the attack happened, as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims, according to a translation by Reuters news agency.
“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” police officer Florian Nath said in a short video released on the X account of the Berlin police.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant Pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members, the AP reported.
Overall, more than 2,200 police officers have been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the Pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city, Reuters said.
The-CNN-Wire
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