Berlin Pride attacker served less than 2 years in prison for wanting to join ISIS, prosecutors say

The 21-year-old man convicted in 2025 of trying to join ISIS and accused of ramming his rented vehicle into the Berlin LGBTQ+ Pride parade was killed by police on Sunday, a senior police official in Germany told CBS News.

The official said the suspect charged towards police with a knife and officers opened fire, shooting the suspect. Police later said that the confrontation happened at a garden colony in the suburb of Spandau. He died at the scene.

On July 3, just three-and-a-half weeks before Saturday's attack, police searched Ballout's home in Berlin-Schoneberg, prompted by an initial suspicion of a violation of Germany's Weapons Act, according to information provided to CBS News by Berlin prosecutors. However, they left after only a toy gun was found during the search and the case was subsequently dismissed.

Berlin prosecutors said Ballout shared ISIS propaganda on Instagram in 2024 and the following year traveled to Lebanon "with the intention of proceeding from there to Syria to join ISIS." However, he was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison.

He was sentenced to a year and ten months in jail, but this was suspended, partially in recognition of the time he had spent in jail in Lebanon and pre-trial detention, and partially because he admitted to the crimes and distanced himself from ISIS, prosecutors said.

Police said they believe Ballout rented the vehicle used in the attack, but it remains unclear if he was the driver.