A 21-year-old suspect, identified as Abdul B., was killed by police special forces in Berlin after being named the chief suspect in a deadly attack near the city's Christopher Street Day (CSD) celebrations.
Police confirmed that officers located the suspect in an allotment garden colony (Kleingartenanlage) in Berlin's western Spandau district on Sunday at around 6:00 p.m. Berlin's SEK (Spezialeinsatzkommando), the police special forces unit, was deployed to the site.
According to a police statement posted on X, the suspect ran at officers wielding a bladed weapon, after which SEK officers opened fire. Berlin fire department paramedics began resuscitation efforts immediately, but the suspect died at the scene despite this. Police had previously confirmed a large-scale operation underway at a garden shed (Gartenlaube) in Berlin-Spandau.
The attack occurred on Saturday evening in Berlin's Tiergarten, leaving one woman dead and nearly 30 people injured. Following the attack, police launched an intensive manhunt for the 21-year-old suspect, Abdul B., a German citizen of Lebanese descent who was known to authorities as a member of Berlin's Islamist scene. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) stated that investigators believed the incident to be an "Islamist terror attack."
The Federal Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation. The investigation is based on the "suspected Islamist motive," a spokeswoman told the AFP news agency on Sunday. The investigation is also looking into possible "masterminds" or "accomplices."
Abdul B. was a German citizen with Lebanese roots who was known to security authorities as a member of Berlin's Islamist scene prior to the attack. Interior Minister Dobrindt stated that investigators believed the attack to be an Islamist terror attack.
According to a joint report by Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR, the suspect was reportedly known to German security agencies for several years as an Islamist threat. Security services had monitored Abdul B. since he was 16. In May 2026, he was convicted of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, receiving a juvenile sentence of one year and ten months, but was released under pre-probation on condition he join a deradicalization program; the verdict was not yet legally binding. He had also attempted to travel to Syria to join IS and, after a tip-off from German authorities, was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison in Lebanon.
The Violence Prevention Network confirmed holding two counseling sessions with Abdul B. as part of his court-ordered deradicalization program; director Thomas Mücke called him "hard to read" and "unpredictable," and a final assessment after a planned third session never took place. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed the prior Berlin sentence and said the suspect had a long history of criminal behavior, radicalization, and Islamist-scene connections.
With the Federal Prosecutor's Office now leading the investigation, the case will proceed under federal jurisdiction given the suspected Islamist motive. Investigators are examining whether the suspect acted alone or had accomplices or others with prior knowledge of the attack. DNA identification of the man killed in Spandau was still outstanding at the time of the last report provided.
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