Merz calls for tighter security after Berlin Pride attack killed one woman

German authorities said a 21-year-old suspect who had tried to join ISIS was released from detention in May and later killed one woman and injured at least 29 people at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day parade, prompting Chancellor Friedrich Merz to call for tighter monitoring. The attack struck one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ events near Tiergarten and the Brandenburg Gate.

Police identified the suspect as Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots. German police said Ballout had been convicted in 2025 for trying to join ISIS and for planning a serious act of violence. Prosecutors and police said he was released from detention in May 2026, before the July 25 attack in Berlin.

The assault unfolded during the Pride event, which was disrupted as crowds scattered and emergency crews moved in around the city center. Authorities said the attack was believed to be motivated by Islamist extremist ideology, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the evidence pointed to an Islamist attack. Berlin police launched a large manhunt after Ballout initially fled the scene.

Police later shot Ballout dead during an operation. The sequence of a prior conviction, a release from detention, and then a deadly attack has intensified scrutiny of how Germany tracks and detains people flagged for extremist violence. Merz said the state must respond with greater vigilance and said Germany could not allow itself to be intimidated.

The killings also sent shock through Berlin’s LGBTQ community and beyond. Flowers and candles quickly filled the area near the memorial by the Brandenburg Gate, where mourners gathered after the parade was cut short. The attack turned one of the capital’s most visible public celebrations into a scene of grief, and it has sharpened the debate over whether Germany’s security and detention rules are catching dangerous suspects early enough.