A stabbing spree in Paris Monday with apparent ties to radical Islam that left three women in critical condition came just two days after a known Islamist allegedly drove a van into crowds near Berlin’s Pride celebration and then attacked people with a machete in a terror attack that killed one and injured 29 others. But you would never know that connection from listening to European officials or the media.
The Berlin Attack
German police shot and killed the suspected Islamist behind Saturday night’s deadly attack near Berlin’s Pride celebration Sunday evening, ending a nearly 24-hour manhunt across the German capital. The search ended around 6pm after authorities located the man in a community garden area in western Berlin.
Police said the suspect charged toward officers carrying a bladed weapon, prompting them to open fire. Emergency crews attempting to revive him before declaring him dead at the scene.
As reported on Monday’s AM Update, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German-born citizen of Lebanese descent, is accused of using a rental van and machete to kill one person and injure 29 others in Berlin’s Tiergarten park.
The attack unfolded shortly before 10pm as the city’s Pride parade and festival known as “Christopher Street Day” was wrapping up near the historic Brandenburg Gate. Authorities emphasized the attack did not occur inside the festival, along the parade route, or at its closing party; instead taking place several hundred yards away on a path through the sprawling park.
According to police, the white van plowed through a group believed to include both Pride parade attendees and other people visiting the park before smashing into a tree. Some of the victims also suffered wounds from what investigators described as a “bladed weapon,” raising questions about whether Ballout carried out the attack alone or had help from others who fled after the van crashed.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, addressed the city amid early suspicions of an Islamist terror attack. “We will not allow our way of life and our way of living together to be taken from us,” he said.
Ballout previously traveled to Lebanon in 2025 while allegedly attempting to reach Syria and join ISIS. Prosecutors alleged he made contact with people he believed were members of the terror organization before Lebanese authorities arrested him and a military court sentenced him to three months behind bars.
German authorities arrested him again after his return to Berlin in November 2025 and eventually charged him with preparing a serious act of subversive violence and distributing ISIS propaganda online. The Associated Press reported Ballout was convicted in a juvenile court in May and given a suspended sentence of one year and 10 months after concluding he appeared to have distanced himself from the terror group.
Police searched his Berlin apartment on July 3 over a possible weapons violation but left after finding only a toy gun and closed the case, according to CBS News.
The attack has renewed scrutiny of Germany’s ability to contain known extremists following a string of deadly vehicle attacks across the country. Despite members of the gay community seemingly being targeted in an apparent Islamic terror attack, Pride organizers warned against using the violence to fuel a broader backlash against Muslims or immigrants.
The Paris Attack
Meanwhile, three women were stabbed in broad daylight in Paris Monday by an attacker claiming Allah commanded him to do it.
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, the assault unfolded around 11:30am near Porte de Clichy in the northwestern part of the city. Video showed the suspect dressed in a light-colored tracksuit with shoulder-length black hair jogging through the streets carrying two large kitchen knives.
The person recording could be heard shouting, “Attention! Attention!” in French to warn pedestrians as the armed man approached. The suspect then appeared to swing one of the knives at a woman from behind before continuing down the street. It is unclear whether she was among the three confirmed victims.
Those women were identified as ages 19, 24, and 36. One suffered stab wounds in the lower back and another in the abdomen. According to The Telegraph, both victims were listed in critical condition but officials believe all three are expected to recover. Mayor Geoffroy Boulard said one of the victims is pregnant, though authorities have not disclosed which woman or the extent of her injuries.
Witnesses recalled the attacker appearing to target women as he moved through the neighborhood. Several men ultimately tackled the suspect and pinned him beneath a chair until an off-duty police officer took him into custody.
Another recording captured the suspect – who remains in custody and not yet publicly identified – on the pavement being restrained by the group while he could be heard declaring in French, “It is Allah who commanded me.”
However, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has urged the public not to draw conclusions about the motive, instead describing the suspect’s remarks during his arrest as “incoherent.” The government’s reluctance to connect the attack to Islamic extremism despite the suspect’s own words has revived frustration over what critics see as a broader refusal to name the ideology behind such violence.
The Failure to Speak Up
On Tuesday’s edition of The Megyn Kelly Show, Megyn was joined by Dan Wootton, host of Dan Wootton Outspoken, to discuss the rise in Islamic terror attacks in Europe and the unwillingness of too many in the media and government to speak the truth. Watch:
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Wootton by tuning in to episode 1,369 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.