Flowers, candles and rainbow flags filled a memorial as officials promised that violence would not divide the German capital.
BERLIN — Hundreds of mourners gathered near the Brandenburg Gate on Sunday to remember the victims of a deadly attack near Berlin’s Pride celebration, turning a landmark associated with the festival into a place of grief and defiance.
The gathering followed an attack Saturday night in which a van struck people in nearby Tiergarten park, killing one woman and injuring 29 people, according to authorities. Investigators suspect the driver also attacked people with a machete. Officials said they believe the violence was an Islamic extremist terrorist attack directed at people near one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
Mourners placed flowers, candles, rainbow flags and handmade signs near the scene. Some embraced or stood quietly as Berlin absorbed the consequences of violence that occurred only a few hundred meters from the festival’s closing party.
The attack did not happen along the Pride parade route or inside the party near the Brandenburg Gate, police said. It occurred on a path in Tiergarten park, where the crowd likely included festival visitors, Berlin residents and tourists. That distinction did little to ease concern among LGBTQ+ groups, which viewed the timing and location as a direct threat to the community.
Andre Lehmann, a senior official with Germany’s LSVD+ LGBTQ+ association, said the suspected attack had struck at the heart of the queer community. His organization and other community groups called attention to the fear created when violence reaches a public celebration built around visibility, freedom and equal rights.
Ashley Jump, a 26-year-old resident of the United Kingdom, had traveled to Berlin for the parade but left before the attack. Jump returned Sunday to place flowers at the memorial and said the LGBTQ+ community would not disappear or allow itself to be erased.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Germans not to allow the attack to divide society. Addressing Pride participants in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany, he said such violence was intended to intimidate people and weaken the country’s openness and freedom.
The official response extended beyond Berlin. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said security plans for other major gatherings, including Pride events, would be reviewed and strengthened where needed. Officials faced the challenge of protecting participants without allowing an attack to erase the open and public character of the celebrations.
Berlin’s Christopher Street Day festivities had drawn hundreds of thousands of people Saturday. A parade featuring about 80 trucks moved through the city before the closing event near the Brandenburg Gate. It was unclear how many people remained in the area when the attack began at about 10 p.m.
Police said a white van drove into the park, hit several people and crashed into a tree. The suspected driver fled, leading to a search that continued until Sunday evening. Officers found Abdul Ballout in a garden in the western district of Spandau, authorities said.
Police said Ballout ran toward officers with a sharp object and was shot. He died at the scene. Prosecutors said Ballout had previously tried to join the Islamic State group and had been convicted in May of preparing a serious act of violence that endangered the state, distributing extremist propaganda and other offenses.
Authorities had not publicly identified the woman killed in the attack or provided a detailed breakdown of the conditions of those injured. Investigators also had not announced whether they believed anyone assisted Ballout or knew about the suspected plan in advance.
The attack also raised security concerns outside Germany. Amsterdam was preparing to host World Pride alongside its annual Pride events, and Mayor Femke Halsema said officials and organizers were closely monitoring developments in Berlin. She said the city intended to protect the celebrations without allowing added security to overshadow their message of freedom and love.
Berlin officials and community leaders said memorial events would continue as investigators worked to establish the full sequence of events. The flowers and flags near the Brandenburg Gate remained a public sign of mourning and of the community’s determination to remain visible after the attack.
Author note: Last updated July 27, 2026.