Deradicalisation programme flagged Berlin Pride attacker before fatal attack
A 21-year-old suspect with known ISIS links was killed by police after a vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack at Berlin's Pride parade, prompting scrutiny of a deradicalisation program that had identified him as a high-risk participant.
German authorities said Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German-born citizen of Lebanese descent, drove a rented vehicle into participants of Berlin's LGBTQ+ Pride parade on Saturday night, then attacked people with a machete. One woman, a Polish national, was killed and at least 29 others were injured. Ballout was shot dead by police in a suburb the following day after a 24-hour manhunt.
Prosecutors noted Ballout had a criminal record that included assault convictions in 2019 and 2021, and that he had posted ISIS propaganda on Instagram in early 2024. He later travelled to Lebanon with the intention of joining ISIS in Syria, was arrested there, and returned to Germany in November 2025 after serving a sentence. In May 2025 a Berlin juvenile court convicted him of preparing a serious act of subversive violence and of publishing extremist material, sentencing him to a suspended term of one year and ten months.
Following his release, a court ordered Ballout to enroll in a deradicalisation programme run by the Violence Prevention Network, which assesses high-risk offenders linked to both right-wing and Islamist extremism. Staff conducted two evaluations and were scheduled for a third on Monday. Cornelia Lotthammer, the programme’s communications director, told CBS News that staff observed “fake cooperation” and judged Ballout to be “very radicalised” and unsuitable for the programme. She said the team would have alerted police if they had detected an imminent threat.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he wants to understand how the attack could have been prevented and emphasized the need to protect citizens from “dangerous people who cannot be taken into custody.” Police indicated the vehicle used in the attack was rented, and preliminary intelligence found no link between the attacker and the United States.
The incident occurred near the Brandenburg Gate during the closing celebration of the city’s Pride festival, prompting public mourning and calls for improved security at public events. The attack follows a series of vehicle-ramming incidents in Germany over the past year that have resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.