POLITICS

Berlin Pride: Vehicle Enters Crowd, Islamist Suspect Identified – Anti-Right Demonstrations Already in Preliminary Talks

BERLIN – In a development that surprised absolutely no one still in possession of a functioning memory, a white van drove into a crowd near the Christopher Street Day celebrations in the Tiergarten on Saturday evening. One woman is dead. Roughly sixteen or seventeen others are injured, several critically. The driver fled. Police have identified a suspect already known to them from Berlin’s Islamist milieu. A manhunt is underway.

vlgr July 26, 2026 13 reads 2 min read

#ISLAM #MIGRATION #REFUGEES

For those keeping score, cars are dangerous.

19 December 2016 – Berlin, Breitscheidplatz - Christmas market

Truck driven into the crowd. 12–13 killed, 56 injured.

Anis Amri, 24, Tunisian national
Rejected asylum seeker who arrived in Germany in 2015
Known to German authorities; prior criminal record and under observation for radicalisation
Pledged allegiance to ISIS; the group claimed the attack
Fled to Italy and was shot dead by police in Milan on 23 December 2016

8 June 2022 – Berlin, Kurfürstendamm

Car driven onto the sidewalk into pedestrians. 1 killed, 17–32 injured (1 teacher killed; most of the injured were her teenage students on a school trip; several critically).

29-year-old German-Armenian man (dual citizenship)
History of paranoid schizophrenia; medication found in his apartment, had not been taking it properly
No political or extremist motive established
Deemed not criminally responsible; placed in long-term psychiatric care

20 December 2024 – Magdeburg Christmas market

SUV driven into the crowd. 6 killed, 309 injured.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen (Taleb A.), 50 at the time, Saudi national
Lived in Germany since 2006; recognised as a refugee in 2016
Worked as a psychiatrist/psychotherapist
Publicly critical of Islam and Saudi Arabia; described by authorities as Islamophobic
Arrested at the scene
Convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment (with finding of particularly serious guilt)

13 February 2025 – Munich

Mini Cooper driven into a ver.di trade-union demonstration. 2 killed, ~43 injured.

Farhad Noori, 24, Afghan national
Arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2016; held a valid residence permit
Worked as a store detective
Admitted intentionally driving into the crowd
Shouted “Allahu Akbar” after the attack
Authorities suspected Islamist motives

25 July 2026 – Berlin (Tiergarten / CSD Pride)

White van driven into the crowd. 1 killed, 16–17 injured (several critically / life-threatening; possible additional stab wounds under investigation).

Male suspect linked to Berlin’s Islamist milieu, already known to police
Fled the scene after abandoning the vehicle
Manhunt ongoing
Media reports name him as Abdul B., 21; full official biographical details not yet released

Across Germany, 21.8 million people, 26.3 percent of the population, had what the Federal Statistical Office calls an “immigration history.” Some 16.4 million had immigrated themselves.

Of those who had immigrated to Germany, roughly 4.9 million came from other EU countries. The majority therefore came from outside the European Union.

Berlin naturalised another 39,041 people in 2025 alone, a new record. Applications for German citizenship are now submitted online. Documents can be uploaded from a phone, the €255 fee can be paid by credit card or PayPal.

Berlin’s Pride organisers and city officials will issue the expected statements about resilience, diversity, and the refusal to be intimidated.

What is already clear is the reflex. Before the blood is dry, the urgent political task remains the containment of the right. One must not allow the wrong conclusions to be drawn.

The car did it. The obvious solution, then, is to make the car smarter.

Mandatory driver identification. Continuous connectivity. Geofencing around public events. Automated speed restrictions. Remote intervention.

Soon the car will know better.