German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters on Sunday that evidence pointed to the attack being an “Islamist terror attack.”
“We are dealing with a suspected perpetrator who had previously drawn attention for a high volume of criminal offences, radicalisation and affiliation with the Islamist scene,” Dobrindt said.
A statement from the Berlin public prosecutor’s office provided further details about the suspect’s criminal background.
In May 2025, prosecutors said the man travelled via Turkey to Lebanon with the intent to join Islamic State (IS) in Syria. While in Lebanon he allegedly made contact with several individuals he believed were IS members.
He was arrested in Lebanon in July 2025 and sentenced to three months in prison for incitement to religious and sectarian conflict.
He returned to Germany in November 2025, was arrested at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, and placed in pre‑trial detention.
In May of this year he received a sentence of one year and ten months for “preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state.” The sentence was deferred for six months and he was placed under parole supervision.
He had prior convictions for assault and robbery in 2022 and for stealing headphones from a victim in 2020.