One month after the Islamist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD), two life-threateningly injured victims spoke publicly about the incident for the first time. Sebastian S. and his girlfriend Luise D. were among a group of roughly 14 people who were attacked in the Tiergarten by the machete-wielding assailant on the evening of July 25. According to their accounts in the newspaper Die Welt and on the podcast “based,” the attacker sprang from a thicket and charged at the group.
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The attacker first hit a friend and then Luise D., Sebastian S. reports. He said he attempted to shield the man. “I shoved him, but unfortunately not hard enough, so he treated me to a heavy blow and a lighter one with the machete.”
Ribs and Lungs Severely Injured
The assailant shattered Sebastian S.’s ribs and so severely injured his lung that it protruded outward. “I really thought I was going to die there. Blood was pouring from me, my lung was bulging, and I collapsed to my knees,” the 47-year-old recalled. A young woman administered first aid and applied a pressure bandage. A police officer and a paramedic also helped him. In the hospital, Sebastian S. underwent five and a half hours of surgery and was intermittently clinically dead. One lung lobe had to be removed. He is set to visit a rehabilitation clinic soon. He also continues to be haunted by nightmares.
Hours in Life‑Threatening Condition
Luise D. was struck multiple times in the upper body, lost consciousness, and remained in life-threatening danger into the early hours of the morning. Sebastian S. said other members of his group also fought back against the attacker in an effort to stop him: “With bottles, with kicks, with blows.”
Both noted that the brutal machete attack has received little public discussion and that this part of the incident remains little known. “My attack hasn’t really been talked about yet. I could have died, I could have been disabled, I could have been disfigured,” Luise D. said.
Victims: The Machete Attack Is Not Often Discussed
At an event with Berlin’s acting mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) on August 24, the discussion focused largely on the car attack. “Not a word about the machete,” Sebastian S. said.
From the victims’ perspective, it remains unclear whether the later-shot suspect and Islamist Abdul Ballout was also responsible for the machete attack. Luise D. believes the assailant was shorter than the initially reported 1.90 to 1.95 meters Abdul B. In a photo lineup, Sebastian S. identified B.: “The police had me look at several mugshots at the hospital. And I pointed to the one.”
Weapon Not Found
To date, the machete has not been found. Police conducted searches in the Tiergarten and in the Spree river on multiple occasions. Ballout, who was tracked by a special response unit (SEK) of the police in a garden complex in Spandau, was located and shot dead.
The victims criticized that in conversations with Die Welt and the podcast “based,” they received little to no information from the police and prosecutors. “They always want information from us. We get no information from them,” Luise D. said.
