A deadly attack shattered Berlin’s Christopher Street Day celebration Saturday night after a white van plowed into a crowd near the route of the city’s massive LGBTQ+ event, killing one person and injuring at least 16 others.

Authorities said the driver fled after the crash, setting off an urgent police manhunt across the German capital.

The suspect was identified as Abdul B., age 21, and officials said he was already known to law enforcement.

“The suspect is known to police.

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He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” police spokesman Florian Nath said.

That detail will sound painfully familiar to Europeans who have watched officials repeatedly discover, usually after blood is on the pavement, that dangerous extremists were already somewhere in the security files.

Once again, the public is left asking why known threats remain free to turn crowded streets into crime scenes.

The attack happened around 10 p.m. near Tiergarten park, along a route that had been used earlier by the pride march.

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Police said the van drove into the park area, struck multiple people, and then crashed into a tree.

The event had drawn hundreds of thousands of people to Berlin for what organizers and city officials described as a major celebration of tolerance and public life.

Within minutes, that atmosphere gave way to sirens, panic, and a heavy police presence.

At least one victim died, while several others reportedly suffered life threatening injuries.

Officials also said investigators were looking into witness accounts suggesting some victims may have had stab wounds in addition to injuries from the vehicle impact.

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Police stressed that it was too early to make final conclusions about those reports.

Authorities urged witnesses to provide videos, photos, or any other evidence that could help reconstruct what happened.

Event attendee Julian Meithig said he had been celebrating near the Brandenburg Gate and was planning to head to an afterparty when a friend warned him that “something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire trucks, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances.”

Meithig walked toward the scene and saw the aftermath of the attack. He later said “it’s a dark day for our community.”

About 15 minutes after the assault, the Christopher Street Day event was canceled.

Police flooded the area as emergency responders treated victims and investigators began searching for the suspect.

Berlin officials also activated a crisis hotline for people unable to locate loved ones after the attack.

In a city packed with visitors and residents for one of its largest annual public events, families were left scrambling for answers.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”

“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society.”

“I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate,” Wegner said.

The mayor’s words captured the official mood, but they also highlighted the uncomfortable reality facing Germany and much of Western Europe.

Leaders talk endlessly about open societies, but open societies still require serious borders, serious policing, and serious consequences for extremists who make their intentions clear.

For now, police say the suspect remains at large as of Sunday morning.

The manhunt is continuing, with officers seeking the public’s help as they work through evidence from one of Berlin’s most disturbing public attacks in recent memory.

Berlin has seen what happens when a known extremist threat allegedly reaches a crowded street, and the bill for that failure was paid by innocent people.

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