Investigators find apparent claim of responsibility after Berlin Pride attack
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BERLIN (AP) — Investigators have found what appears to be a claim of responsibility by the suspect in the fatal attack near Berlin’s Pride festival, German authorities said Tuesday.
The 21-year-old suspect, Abdul Ballout, was killed in a confrontation with police on Sunday, the day after investigators say he drove a van into a crowd near the festival’s closing party before apparently cutting others with a machete. A Polish woman was killed and 31 other people injured.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said investigators were evaluating a cellphone that was found in the van. He said they have found a possible video claim of responsibility and that the person in the video, who is disguised, is believed to be the suspect.
The German federal prosecutor’s office confirmed the existence of the video announcing the intention to carry out an attack and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. The Bild daily first reported on the video.
Dobrindt said other evidence was found at an apartment, and there were “references” to IS. He didn’t elaborate.
Berlin prosecutors have said Ballout, who was born in Germany and has Lebanese roots, traveled to Lebanon in 2025 with the goal of going to Syria to join IS. He made contact with several people who were presumed members.
Questions have mounted over how the suspect was able to move freely despite a conviction for actions including his attempted links to IS.
Dobrindt said people who have been identified as dangerous shouldn’t be released on suspended sentences and it’s “dubious” to use juvenile law in their cases, as it was in Ballout’s. He said ankle bracelets should be used to limit their movement, but he emphasized that there is no such thing as “absolute security.”