A car drives into a crowd in Germany, while a shooting breaks out in the United States, July 25 and 26. Here’s what we know about this deadly weekend on both sides of the globe.
A death in Berlin
“We started running. I didn’t know. I didn’t look where the person was going. I just heard all that”tells a witness to AFP. On Saturday July 25, a car rushes into the crowd celebrating one of the largest Pride marches in Tiergarten Park in Berlin. A woman dies and 29 other people are injured, including three in a state of emergency. The main suspect flees when his car ends up hitting a tree.
After an extensive manhunt, the police found him in a garden shed the next day. Several German media are reporting his potential death. The police reportedly shot him dead immediately. The Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, said he was waiting to know whether it was indeed the alleged perpetrator. “A shot was fired (during the operation) and in this context a person was injured and died. A confirmation that it is indeed the author is missing. You have to wait”he said on public television ZDF.
The wanted notice describes a “man of slim build, approximately 1.90 m tall, black hair, wearing a black hoodie and white pants”. It would be Abdul Ballout. Investigators suspect him of having links with the Islamist community. This 21-year-old man is of German nationality and of Lebanese origin. In 2025, he attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria, before Lebanese authorities arrested and imprisoned him. On his return to Germany in November, the Berlin police arrested him and then placed him in a juvenile detention center. Justice condemns him for “preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the security of the State”.
In view of these elements, the Minister of the Interior describes the act as“Islamist terrorist attack”. On X, the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, calls for shedding light on this “abominable act”which provokes international reactions.
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Three dead in Seattle
Shooting kills three people on Sunday July 26 in Seattle. Two died at the scene of the tragedy, while the third succumbed to her injuries at Harborview Hospital. The police reported at least four other injuries: a two-year-old child, a 39-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man and a woman of unknown age whom doctors took to the operating room. These latter are “all in stable condition”declares the deputy chief of the Seattle police during a press conference late in the evening.
The shooting broke out near the famous observation tower built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space Needle. This weekend, the city in the northwest of the United States hosted its “Bite of Seattle” festival, which highlights local food and beverage outlets. The organizers estimated that they would welcome more than 350,000 visitors over three days.
One of the street food vendors present at the event broadcast the scene live on social networks. The gunshots heard triggered a crowd movement in the aisles of the open-air market.
One of the two suspects is in police custody. He surrendered to the police who were quickly deployed on site. The other suspect is on the run but “actively sought”. The local police speak of the arrested person as being a “young person”. She should say more during an upcoming press conference scheduled for Monday evening.
