BERLIN — One of Europe’s largest annual LGBTQ+ pride celebrations was abruptly cut short in the German capital Saturday, when law enforcement authorities called off the event midway through its start after a car drove into a crowd near the march route, leaving multiple people injured. The incident unfolded in Tiergarten, a central public park adjacent to the established parade path, where the vehicle struck multiple attendees before the situation was contained.
In an official public statement posted to the social platform X, Berlin Police urged all participants and bystanders at the event to evacuate the area immediately. While authorities confirmed that several people sustained injuries, they have not yet released a specific number of those affected. Law enforcement also noted that a large contingent of officers has been deployed to the scene to respond to the incident, though they could not immediately specify the exact number of personnel on site.
The Berlin pride parade, locally called Christopher Street Day, draws hundreds of thousands of attendees from across Germany and the broader European region each year, making it one of the continent’s most high-profile and well-attended LGBTQ+ community gatherings. Saturday’s shutdown marks an unexpected and violent interruption to what organizers had planned as a day of celebration and advocacy for queer rights.