German investigators find apparent motive after Berlin Pride attack

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters, reported that German federal prosecutors say investigators have found an apparent extremist motive in the deadly vehicle attack at Berlin Pride. Authorities said a video discovered on a phone inside the rented minivan used in Saturday’s attack showed the accused attacker pledging allegiance to ISIL (ISIS). The attack killed a 65-year-old Polish woman and injured 31 people.

The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots. He was shot dead by police on Sunday in Berlin’s Spandau district after officials said he attacked officers with a bladed weapon. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the person in the video was masked, but authorities believe it was the suspect. He said investigators were still working to access and assess the phone and that data devices found at Ballout’s home also showed links to ISIL.

According to the report, German newspaper Bild first reported the existence of the video. Bild also said a sheath for a machete believed to have been used after the van crashed in Tiergarten park was found in the vehicle. Prosecutors said the recording was made on the same day as the attack.

Al Jazeera reported that Ballout had previously been known to authorities. Berlin prosecutors said he travelled to Lebanon in 2025 intending to reach Syria and join ISIL, and a Lebanese judicial source told AFP he received a three-month sentence there for belonging to the group. After returning to Germany, he was detained and later given a suspended juvenile sentence in May for planning a serious act of subversive violence.