“We are dealing here with a suspected perpetrator, who had previously drawn attention to himself through a high volume of criminal offences, radicalisation and affiliation with the Islamist scene,” Dobrindt said during a press conference near the attack site.
One person was killed and 16 injured, eight seriously, emergency services said.
Dobrindt added that Germany’s 16 states were also being briefed about the attack and advised to review their security measures for major events, including further Pride celebrations.
“It cannot be ruled out that such horrific acts, such terrorist attacks, might inspire copycats,” he added.
Police said a white vehicle ploughed into a crowd in the Tiergarten park near the city’s Brandenburg Gate at about 10pm not far from one of Europe’s biggest annual LGBTQ Pride celebrations, Christopher Street Day.
Authorities said overnight they had identified a suspect who was previously known to them and part of the “Islamist spectrum”, later naming him as Abdul B and publishing his picture.
They called on members of the public to help find him.
“Who can share anything about his current whereabouts?” a police statement posted online said, describing him as slim, around 1.90m tall, with black hair, and last seen wearing a black hooded top and white trousers.
It was not clear whether the perpetrator acted alone. Police said more than one person may have got out of the vehicle after it came to a halt.
Of the 16 people who were injured in the attack, some had suffered stab wounds, the police added. The fire service said three of the injured were in a life-threatening condition.
Christopher Street Day organisers cancelled the remainder of the events.
The attack comes at a sensitive time for conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s unpopular coalition government, which is going through a bruising cabinet reshuffle as critics accuse it of being ineffective.
State elections are due in two months, with the far-right opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaigning on issues including immigration and security in a bid to secure leadership of a state government for the first time.
The AfD was quick to comment on the attack.
“We will not allow religious extremists to divide our country with violence and intolerance!” AfD co-chief Tino Chrupalla said on X. (Reuters)
