Abdul Ballout, 21, was shot dead by German police The hunt for Abdul Ballout came to a dramatic end on Sunday evening when Germany's elite SEK police unit tracked Ballout to a shed in the Spandau district of west Berlin. German media reported that the 21-year-old allegedly attacked officers at around 6pm, forcing police to open fire and killing him. "I am grateful to the security authorities for finding the attacker so quickly. That is a tremendous achievement," said Iris Spranger, Berlin's senator for the interior, after the operation concluded. Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, was already well known to the authorities long before Saturday night's bloodshed. Standing 6ft 3in tall with dark hair and a chinstrap beard, he had previous convictions for grievous bodily harm and violent coercion before investigators said he became increasingly radicalised as an Islamist extremist. Prosecutors said Ballout travelled to Lebanon last year intending to reach Syria and join Islamic State. While there, he contacted several people believed to be members of the terror group, or at least people he believed were linked to it. Lebanese authorities arrested him and a military court sentenced him to three months in prison for offences including incitement to religious and sectarian conflict. After serving his sentence, he returned to Germany, where he was arrested at Berlin airport. In May, a Berlin juvenile court convicted Ballout of preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, publishing Islamic State propaganda on Instagram and other offences. He received a suspended sentence of one year and ten months in youth custody, although Berlin prosecutors have appealed that ruling. The court said it had taken into account the months Ballout had already spent in custody in Germany and Lebanon. Judges also cited his confession, his apparent efforts to distance himself from Islamic State and the fact that no actual attack had materialised at that stage before releasing him pending appeal in May. German media reported that Ballout returned to live with his mother and that relatives threw him a loud welcome-home party after his release. He had also been ordered to attend a deradicalisation programme after posting pro-Islamic State material online but attended only two sessions before he was due to return for a third on Monday. Officials said he remained in the programme's assessment phase, where specialists were still evaluating the level of threat he posed. Advisers told Die Welt that although he appeared cooperative and polite, he was "inscrutable", leaving them uncertain whether he was being truthful. Security sources monitoring his phone reportedly told the newspaper that his conversations with acquaintances had become increasingly radical in recent weeks. Investigators also believe he rented the white van used in the attack using his own identity documents. Speaking near the attack scene, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said all evidence gathered so far pointed towards an Islamist terrorist attack. He described the suspect as someone who had already attracted attention because of extensive criminal offending, radicalisation and links to Berlin's Islamist scene. As investigators searched for answers, officers raided Ballout's flat near Potsdamer Platz, searched his sister's apartment near the Treptow and Neukölln border, and combed underground tunnels close to Anhalter station. Authorities are also investigating whether Ballout had an accomplice and whether he was driving the van himself or travelling as a passenger when the attack unfolded. Berlin Pride suspect tried to join Islamic State
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