Politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned the attack at the Christopher Street Day (CSD) celebration in Berlin as an assault on tolerance and openness. "This is an attack on our society," Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wrote on the online platform X on Sunday morning. "We are open and freedom-loving, and we will preserve and defend that." The "despicable act" would "be prosecuted with the utmost severity."
"Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world celebrated peacefully at Christopher Street Day," Merz wrote. "They wanted us to treat one another well and with tolerance."
The Green Party's parliamentary group leaders, Britta Haßelmann and Katharina Dröge, spoke on Sunday of a "horrific act of terror" against "queer people and their friends, who were demonstrating for equal rights and against hate crime."
In a joint statement, the two politicians wrote: "Anyone who attacks people celebrating CSD is attacking queer life, visibility, and the right to live freely, openly, and without fear." It was, they said, an "attack on the entire country, on our liberal constitutional state under the rule of law, and everything that defines it."
Bundestag Vice President Bodo Ramelow of the Left Party expressed similar sentiments: "It is an attack on an open world," Ramelow said. He said the attack would leave "bitter scars" for those affected. The Left Party politician called for action against hostility toward queer people: "The rainbow is a powerful symbol of freedom, and CSD is an expression of diversity. Let us mourn together and stand together against hatred and violence!"
Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) stated: "Anyone who attacks people who stand up for diversity, freedom, and mutual respect is attacking all of us, our open and tolerant society, and with it the heart of our democracy." She said the attack had deeply shaken her.
The chairman of the CSU regional group in the Bundestag, Alexander Hoffmann, spoke of an "attack on free life in Germany as a whole." On X, he added: "We must fight terrorism with maximum severity, no matter where it comes from."
Following the attack at Berlin's CSD, Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) raised the possibility of the Federal Prosecutor General taking over the investigation. "If the legal requirements are met, the Federal Prosecutor General will take over the further investigation," Hubig stated in Berlin on Sunday. "This act will be investigated and prosecuted with full consequence."
Hubig said CSD stood "for diversity, respect, freedom, and joy of life." She added: "Anyone who attacks people peacefully celebrating is attacking these liberal values, our open society, and the queer community." She expressed "our particular sympathy and solidarity" with the queer community "after this despicable act."
The Federal Prosecutor General's office in Karlsruhe typically takes over investigations into serious crimes against Germany's internal or external security. These include offenses such as terrorism, treason, and espionage.
At the Christopher Street Day event in Berlin, a vehicle drove into a crowd of people, killing at least one person. According to police and fire services, 16 other people were injured in Berlin's Tiergarten on Saturday evening, three of them critically. Police issued a public manhunt notice for a 21-year-old suspect. The suspect is an alleged Islamist named Abdul B.
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