German law enforcement officers fatally shot the individual suspected of orchestrating a violent attack in Berlin during a standoff on Sunday in a suburb of the capital, ending a manhunt that spanned nearly a day, The Associated Press reported.
The deceased suspect was identified as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German national of Lebanese descent. According to public prosecutors, Ballout had a documented history of trying to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist network.
Authorities suspect Ballout drove a van into crowds in Berlin on Saturday night before attacking bystanders with a bladed weapon, in what officials are treating as an act of religious extremism.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt addressed the situation, stating, "Everything we see here points to us dealing with an Islamic terror attack."
Dobrindt confirmed that 29 people sustained injuries during the rampage, which occurred near the Brandenburg Gate.
Regarding the suspect's background, Dobrindt noted that Ballout was native-born, with his mother gaining German citizenship in 2002, three years prior to his birth.
According to Berlin prosecutors, Ballout traveled to Lebanon in 2025 intending to cross into Syria to enlist with ISIS. While in the region, he established contact with individuals he believed belonged to the terrorist organization. Lebanese authorities subsequently detained him, and a military court sentenced him to three months for inciting sectarian discord.
Upon completing his sentence in Lebanon, Ballout flew back to Germany, where law enforcement arrested him at the airport.
In May, a Berlin juvenile court found Ballout guilty of preparing a severe act of subversion targeting the state, alongside charges related to distributing ISIS materials online. Although handed a youth sentence of one year and 10 months, the court suspended the term.
The judicial panel cited his pre-trial detention in Germany and Lebanon, his full confession, his claimed detachment from the terrorist group, and the absence of a materialized threat as grounds for the suspended sentence, allowing his release pending the appeal process.
Saturday’s incident marks the latest in a series of extremist attacks in the German capital. In December 2016, a Tunisian national whose asylum claim was rejected drove a commercial truck into a Christmas market, killing 13 people before being fatally shot days later in Italy. Additionally, in February of last year, a Syrian national carried out a knife attack against a Spanish tourist at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, resulting in a 13-year prison sentence.