Berlin Pride attack motive points to ISIL pledge, prosecutors say
German prosecutors say a video found in the van showed a pledge to ISIL, as officials examine devices linked to Abdul Ballout.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Investigators examining the Berlin Pride attack motive say a video found on a phone in the rented van used in the assault showed a pledge of allegiance to ISIL, also known as ISIS. The German federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that the discovery is part of the inquiry into Saturday’s deadly attack at the Pride event in Berlin.
The attack killed a 65-year-old Polish woman and injured 31 people, according to German authorities. Investigators say the van was driven into people at the festival before crashing into a tree in Berlin’s Tiergarten park.
The suspect, identified by officials as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, was shot dead by police on Sunday. Authorities said he attacked officers with a bladed weapon when they confronted him.
What did investigators find after the Berlin Pride attack?
The federal prosecutor’s office said investigators found the video on a mobile phone inside the rented minivan. The recording was made on Saturday, the same day as the attack, according to authorities.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in televised remarks that the person in the video was masked, but investigators believe it was Ballout. “We assume the person in the video is the suspect,” Dobrindt said.
Dobrindt said investigators were working to access and examine the phone recovered from the vehicle. He also said data storage devices found at Ballout’s home contained links to IS, using another name for the armed group.
German newspaper Bild, which first reported the existence of the video, said a sheath for a machete was also found in the van. Bild reported that investigators believe the attacker used the machete to attack more people after leaving the vehicle.
What authorities have said about Ballout
Ballout was a German citizen with Lebanese roots and was known to the criminal justice system, according to German authorities. Berlin prosecutors said he travelled to Lebanon in 2025 with the aim of going to Syria to join ISIL.
Prosecutors said Ballout made contact with several people who were presumed to be members of the armed group. A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that Ballout was sentenced in Lebanon to three months in prison for belonging to ISIL.
German authorities detained Ballout after he returned to Germany. In May, a juvenile court convicted him of planning a serious act of subversive violence and handed down a suspended prison sentence of one year and 10 months, according to prosecutors.
ISIL, also known as ISIS, is an armed group that has claimed attacks in several countries. German investigators have not announced that the group directed Saturday’s attack, but they say the video and devices are being examined as possible evidence of a motive.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.