Sussex Police deploy armed officers for Brighton Pride

Police in Sussex will deploy armed officers and other specialist teams across Brighton and Hove this weekend for the UK's largest Pride festival, a security response prompted by a fatal attack at a similar event in Berlin. The heightened policing plans were announced on July 27 and 28, just days before the celebration expected to draw an estimated 500,000 people to the south coast city.

The security reassessment follows an attack in the German capital on Saturday, July 25, where a suspect drove a van into a crowd gathered for Berlin Pride, killing one person and injuring at least 29 others before attacking people with a machete. The suspect, identified as Abdul Ballout and reportedly linked to the so-called Islamic State group, was shot dead by police on Sunday, July 26, after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

In response, Sussex Police detailed a comprehensive operation for the Brighton event. A police spokesperson said that uniformed officers, plainclothed officers, and specialist teams including armed officers would be deployed across the city. The spokesperson emphasized that public safety was the top priority and that planning had been extensive and coordinated with event...