'We will defend our freedoms': German Chancellor tells Pride attendees to 'not be intimidated' after Berlin attack
A white minivan ploughed into pedestrians in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate on Saturday evening
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Pride attendees to "not be intimidated" and that the nation will "defend our freedoms," following a devastating attack in Berlin that has left one dead and almost 30 injured.
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A white minivan ploughed into pedestrians in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate on Saturday evening, not far from one of Europe's biggest annual LGBTQ Pride celebrations, Christopher Street Day.
One person was killed and 29 injured, eight seriously, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said, in what he has called an "Islamist terror attack".
Chancellor Merz has spoken ahead of a vigil at Berlin's St Mary's Church, where he vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
He said: "I want to say this to those taking part in Christopher Street Day here in Berlin, and indeed across the whole of Germany: do not let yourselves – let us not – be intimidated.
"These acts have only one purpose: they seek to divide our society.
"They want to take away the most important things we have: our openness, our freedom.
"We will do everything in our power to apprehend the perpetrators as quickly as possible.
"We will decide on the appropriate response with due consideration and prudence."
The suspected perpetrator, named as Abdul B, had "attracted attention in the past through a high degree of criminal offences, through radicalisation, through membership of the Islamist scene", minister Dobrindt said, adding that he had a Lebanese background and was born in Germany in 2005.
Security sources told Reuters that the suspect had been released from juvenile detention only two months ago.
They said he had sought contact with the Islamic State militant group, that he was known to domestic intelligence and was among the hundreds of people classed as potentially dangerous, a label that usually leads to scrutiny or monitoring.
"These criminals have no place at the heart of our society," Chancellor Merz added.
"We will not allow this poison to continue spreading and undermining our freedom. We will defend the freedom of our society.
"There are more of us, we are stronger, and we stand together in our country. That is what matters most at such a difficult time.
"Let me say it once again: we will defend the freedom, openness and liberal spirit of our lives and our society with everything we can, and we will do so together."
Speaking in the hours after the attack, Mr Dobrindt said that "we cannot rule out the possibility of further terrorist attacks, although that is not typical in these circumstances."
He said that the manhunt was their "key focus."
Dobrindt added that, after ramming into people with the van, the suspect "then attacked the crowd with some type of blade, it might have been a machete, and also severely injured those people".