A 21‑year‑old suspect in the deadly attack on a Berlin Pride event pledged allegiance to the extremist group ISIS in a video recovered by investigators.
Authorities say a clip found on a phone inside the rented minivan used to ram a crowd on Saturday was linked to the attacker. The vehicle strike killed one person and injured 31 others before the driver abandoned the van.
Police shot the suspect dead the following day after he assaulted officers with an edged weapon. The confrontation ended when officers fired, neutralizing the threat.
Investigators identified the masked individual in the video as the attacker and are analyzing the phone along with other devices seized from his residence, which contained ISIS‑related data. A sheath for a machete, believed to be the weapon used after the vehicle crash, was also recovered from the van.
The attacker, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, had previously traveled to Lebanon in an attempt to join ISIS, resulting in a three‑month jail term there. Upon return to Germany, he received a suspended sentence of one year and ten months after a juvenile court convicted him of planning a subversive act of violence.
Political leaders have questioned how the suspect could carry out the attack while reportedly under constant surveillance, highlighting concerns about the ability of security agencies to track individuals classified as threats.
