One dead, 14 injured as car reportedly strikes crowd at Berlin LGBTQ event

xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoPolice and security personnel work near the scene where several people were injured on the sideline of the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, on July 25, 2026 [AFP]By AP, DPA and ReutersPublished On 25 Jul 202625 Jul 2026

One person has died and more than a dozen were injured after a car was suspected of driving into a crowd at an LGBTQ parade in Berlin, German police say.

The incident late on Saturday prompted police to call off the event in the German capital hours after it had begun.

Police said they believe a car drove into the city’s central Tiergarten park, near the route of the Pride march, hitting several people.

They said at least 14 people were injured and some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. They called on everyone in a post on X to leave the premises of the event immediately.

Police added that a vehicle was abandoned at the scene in Tiergarten Park – a wooded area of the capital where the parade ends – and they 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 officers illuminated the area between Potsdamer Platz and the southern side of the Tiergarten tunnel as they searched for evidence, a dpa reporter at the scene said.

Emergency services were treating the injured at the scene. The ⁠number and severity of injuries were not immediately clear.

Hundreds of thousands of people had come to the city on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s Pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ celebrations.

The Pride event in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in downtown was called off at about 10:15pm local time (20:15 GMT), and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and avoid travelling through Tiergarten park.

Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the approximately 80 floats that participated in the parade.