Berlin Vehicle Attack Suspect Following IS Shot Dead During Police Operation

Foreign media reported that Abdul Balut, a 21-year-old suspect accused of driving a vehicle into a crowd in Berlin, Germany, causing 30 casualties, was shot and killed on the 26th local time.

Broadcaster rbb and other outlets reported that the suspect died after being shot by a police tactical unit during an arrest operation in Spandau, northwestern Berlin, this afternoon.

Balut is accused of driving a white Citroen van into crowds at the Tiergarten park in central Berlin at around 10:15 p.m. the previous day, running over pedestrians and brandishing a machete to kill one person and injure 29 others.

The crime scene was located directly along the parade route of Christopher Street Day (CSD), an LGBTQ+ festival attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

At the time, a concert was taking place as part of the festival in front of the Brandenburg Gate, about 500 meters away from the scene.

Balut, a German national of Lebanese descent, was caught attempting to join the extremist terrorist group Islamic State (IS) and served three months in prison in Lebanon last year.

He was arrested again upon returning to Berlin in November of last year and was released on probation in May of this year.

Investigative authorities classified the incident as a terrorist attack by an Islamic extremist and transferred the case to the federal prosecutor's office, which handles terrorism cases, this afternoon.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.