The suspect has been named by police as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese background.

He was known to police and has committed a number of crimes, officials said. He had previously been sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison, but the sentence was commuted to parole.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the suspect had been radicalised.

German media outlets are reporting he is a supporter of Islamic State group (IS), and tried in the past – unsuccessfully – to join the organisation.

He attempted to travel to Mauritania via Turkey in May 2025 but failed, later travelling to Lebanon via Turkey with intention of heading to Syria and joining IS, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

While in Lebanon, he is alleged to have made contact with individuals he believed were IS members, and was later arrested in Lebanon in July 2025, where he spent three months in prison.

After his release, he returned to Berlin in November 2025, where he was arrested at the airport and held in pre-trial detention until May 2026 and had been ordered to take part in a de-radicalisation programme.

He is believed to be connected to the rented vehicle found abandoned in the park.

The police statement added that several people are reported to have been injured with stabbing weapons in the attack.