Key takeaways:
- One person was killed after a car drove into a crowd near Berlin’s LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Tiergarten park, police said.
- Reports differed on the injury count: CBS News reported at least 15 injured, while Al Jazeera reported at least 14; police said some injuries were life-threatening.
- The Pride event at the Brandenburg Gate was called off around 10:15 p.m., and police said they were conducting an intensive search for suspects.
A car drove into a crowd near Berlin’s LGBTQ+ Pride parade late Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen others, police said, forcing officials to call off one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations after hours of peaceful festivities.
German police said they believe the vehicle drove into Tiergarten park, near the route of the Pride march, and struck several people. CBS News reported at least 15 people were injured, while Al Jazeera reported at least 14 injuries. Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene, with firefighters, ambulances and other responders treating the injured. Police said a vehicle was abandoned at the scene in Tiergarten, a wooded area in central Berlin where the parade ends, and officers were searching for the occupant or occupants.
“We are conducting an intensive search for suspects,” police spokesman Florian Nath said in a video posted on X.
Police also used X to urge everyone at the event site to leave immediately. They did not say how many officers had been deployed but described the response as involving “definitely a lot of police,” according to CBS News.
A dpa reporter at the scene said police officers illuminated the area between Potsdamer Platz and the southern side of the Tiergarten tunnel as they searched for evidence, Al Jazeera reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin for the parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. The event drew about 80 floats and, before the incident, participants had marched through the city for hours, dancing to loud music and cheering along the route.
The Pride event in front of the Brandenburg Gate was called off at about 10:15 p.m. local time, and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were told to go home and avoid traveling through Tiergarten park.
Police did not immediately provide further details on the number of suspects, the circumstances leading up to the crash or the identities of those killed and injured.
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