00:06Shock and panic have gripped the German capital after a vehicle plowed into a crowd gathered
00:12near Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day pride celebrations, leaving one person dead
00:18and at least 17 others injured. The incident occurred late Saturday evening near the city's
00:25iconic Tiergarten Park, close to the Brandenburg Gate, where hundreds of thousands had gathered
00:31for one of Europe's largest LGBTQ plus events. According to Berlin police, the vehicle drove
00:39into a crowd of pedestrians before crashing into a tree. When emergency responders reached the scene,
00:45the vehicle was reportedly empty, prompting authorities to launch an immediate manhunt
00:51for the driver. Police later said they had identified a suspect known to the Islamist scene
00:57in Berlin and that efforts to locate and arrest the individual were underway. Authorities have
01:04not announced any formal charges or publicly released further details, and the investigation
01:09remains ongoing. Emergency officials confirmed that one person died in the incident. 17 others
01:17sustained injuries, including eight seriously wounded, while three remain in life-threatening
01:23condition. Large numbers of police officers, firefighters, and medical teams rushed to the
01:29area as investigators secured the scene and searched for evidence.
01:35It's a passenger car, a standard model, a passenger car that's sort of like a minibus or minivan. I can't
01:42tell you the exact make right now,
01:44but the car was so badly damaged in the accident that you couldn't tell exactly what it was at first
01:50glance.
01:50But it's a white vehicle, something like a minivan or a mini-SUV, something along those lines.
01:57We are of course continuing our investigation. We now have a very large contingent of officers deployed throughout the entire
02:05city.
02:05We are also receiving support from police forces in other states, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt,
02:12Hamburg, and Bavaria, who are already on the ground here. The federal police are now assisting us here as well.
02:18We have deployed special units that are continuing to participate in the search for possible suspects here.
02:25And we have handed over operational command to the head of our operations and traffic division, who in cases like
02:31this convenes the Berlin command staff here. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as people fled in fear after the
02:39vehicle entered the crowd. Some local media reports citing eyewitnesses said the vehicle appeared to be a
02:46white van and that a man was seen fleeing the scene on foot. These witness accounts have not been
02:53independently verified by authorities. The attack abruptly ended what had been a peaceful celebration of
03:00equality, diversity, and LGBTQ rights. Christopher Street Day is one of Germany's largest annual public events,
03:09commemorating the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York. Since first being held in West Berlin in
03:161979, the event has grown into a major cultural and political gathering, attracting hundreds of
03:23thousands of participants every year. Saturday's incident also renews concerns over a series of vehicle
03:31ramming attacks that Germany has experienced in recent years. Authorities have investigated several
03:37deadly cases involving vehicles driven into crowded public spaces, including incidents in Leipzig,
03:43Mannheim, Munich, and the Magdeburg Christmas Market attack in 2024. Each of those cases involved
03:51different motives and circumstances, and investigators have cautioned against drawing conclusions about
03:57Saturday's attack until evidence has been fully examined. Berlin police say forensic teams are analyzing
04:04the crashed vehicle, while investigators continue searching for the suspect and examining possible motives.
04:12Security has been heightened across parts of the capital, as officials urge the public to avoid
04:17speculation and rely only on verified information. For Berlin's LGBTQ community, the tragedy has transformed
04:26what was meant to be a celebration of inclusion into a night of grief. As investigators race to determine
04:34exactly what happened, authorities say the priority remains caring for the victims, locating the suspect,
04:41and establishing the full circumstances behind one of the city's most shocking incidents in recent memory.
05:05Subscribe to OneIndia and never miss an update. Download the OneIndia app now.
Comments