The alleged Berlin Pride killer showed no willingness to deradicalize, according to the organization that attempted to counsel him. DW spoke to Cornelia Lotthammer, director of the Violence Prevention Network, the court-appointed NGO handling the case of 21-year-old Abdul B. Days before he allegedly attacked Berlin’s LGBTQ+ parade, Lotthammer’s team had already decided he was unfit for counselling. She says a court could have decided to send him to deradicalization training in prison.  

Abdul B., a German-born citizen, had been convicted for acts of extremism, including attempting to join the so-called "Islamic State"group. In May 2026, a Berlin court sentenced him to almost two years in prison, but released him on preliminary probation. On July 25, he allegedly drove a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day celebrations and then attacked people with a blade, killing one person and injuring 29 others. A day later he was tracked down and shot dead by police.

DW’s Pablo Foley Elias spoke to Lotthammer about Abdul B.’s case, the causes of extremism and how it needs to be addressed.