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July 26 (UPI) — German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Sunday identified the suspect accused of driving a car through a Pride event as Abdul Ballout, an alleged supporter of the Islamic State militant group.
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Dobrindt described the deadly assault as an “Islamist terrorist attack” during a news conference near the site of the incident in Tiergarten Park in Berlin, The New York Times reported.
“Everything we have seen so far indicates that we are dealing with an Islamist terrorist attack,” he said. “We know that the suspect, Abdul Ballout, is on the run.
“This is a crucial point, because it means all police forces are engaged in a major manhunt.”
Ballout, 21, is accused of driving a vehicle into a crowd at Berlin’s Pride festival on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 16 people. Police said one or more people appeared to have exited the vehicle after it rammed into the crowd.
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Multiple people also sustained stabbing injuries.
Dobrindt said there was evidence Ballout supported the Islamic State — also known as ISIS — and had a criminal conviction in May, The Guardian reported. Police called for help in tracking down Ballout, a German citizen, but asked members of the public not to approach or have direct contact with him because he may be armed and dangerous.
“We are dealing here with a suspected perpetrator, who had previously drawn attention to himself through a high volume of criminal offenses, radicalization and affiliation with the Islamist scene,” he said.
Police representative Florian Nath said the search was “proceeding at full speed.”
“We still have no information whatsoever regarding his specific motives, the exact sequence of events or his role in the crime itself.”
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This story was originally published July 26, 2026 at 9:06 AM.