Berlin rainbow bench for Pride attack victims vandalised

A rainbow-coloured bench installed in Berlin’s Tiergarten park to remember victims of a deadly July attack on Pride march revellers has been severely damaged, police said Tuesday.

Police said they were called to the park after wooden slats were torn from the bench frame with “considerable physical violence.” The debris was removed, and an investigation into vandalism has been opened. Police noted that nearby benches were left intact.

The vehicle ramming and machete attack in July killed a 65-year-old Polish woman and wounded about 30 people. The presumed attacker, Abdul Rahman Ballout, a 21-year-old German man of Lebanese origin, was killed by Berlin police the next day after a manhunt. Prosecutors later said he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video on the day of the attack.

Berlin’s Mitte district council had installed the bench and planted a maple tree in early August to encourage reflection and solidarity with the queer community. The council said it would quickly rebuild the bench.

Mitte district mayor Stefanie Remlinger said the bench stood for freedom and solidarity with the queer community. She said whoever destroyed it wanted to make a statement against those values.