One dead, 16 injured as car reportedly strikes crowd at Berlin LGBTQ event

German police say they believe a car drove into Tiergarten park, near the route of a Pride march, hitting several people.One person has died and more than a dozen are injured after a car was suspected of driving into a crowd at an LGBTQ parade in Berlin, German police say.The incident late on Saturday prompted police to call off the event in the German capital hours after it had begun.Police said they believe a car drove into the city’s central Tiergarten park, near the route of the Pride march, hitting several people.They said at least 16 people were injured and some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. They called on everyone in a post on X to leave the premises of the event immediately.Police added that a vehicle was abandoned at the scene in Tiergarten Park – a wooded area of the capital where the parade ends – and they were searching for the occupant or occupants.“We are conducting an intensive search for suspects,” police spokesman Florian Nath said in a video posted on X.Police officers illuminated the area between Potsdamer Platz and the southern side of the Tiergarten tunnel as they searched for evidence, a dpa reporter at the scene said.Emergency services were treating the injured at the scene. The ⁠number and severity of injuries were not immediately clear.People wrapped in security blankets hug near the scene where one person was killed and others injured after a car is believed to have hit the crowd on the outskirts of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade in Berlin [AFP]German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed Sunday to punish the perpetrators. In a statement, he said he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt would “push to make sure this horrific act is fully investigated and punished”.