LONDON — A van has crashed into a crowd of people in the western German city of Muenster, leaving at least three dead and injuring several people, police said Saturday.
At least two people were dead as a result of the crash, police said, and the driver committed suicide inside the van.
Authorities said a motive remains unclear, but the investigation is underway. Police noted that they were not actively seeking any additional suspects, but they were looking into all eyewitness accounts.
The suspect was a German citizen who had recently made a suicide attempt, according to NBC News' German partner ZDF. The vehicle was registered under the suspect's name, they reported.
The incident happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET) in the Kiepenkerl area of the city center. Muenster Police tweeted Saturday afternoon that residents should avoid the city center where a police operation is underway.
Local police said they were on the scene and emergency services were attending to the injured. They asked the public to only trust information provided by authorities. They confirmed that there was not a bomb squad on the scene.
A deputy spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ulrike Demmer, tweeted "our thoughts are with the victims and their families." She described the incident Saturday "terrible news."
In December 2016, a truck plowed into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.