Three killed and several injured after a man drives van into a crowd of people in Muenster, Germany before taking his own life. Officials are investigating the matter for possible terror connections
Police sources say the driver comitted suicide after ploughing the van into the pedestrians. Pic/Twitter
In what may be considered a possible terror attack, a man driving a van plowed into a crowd in the northern German city of Muenster on Saturday. At least thre people and dozens were injured in the assault. The culprit then comitted suicide by shooting himself, according to a senior German security official. Officials are unsure whether the incident had connections to terrorism.
The security official further added that response measures were being conducted by the police as though it were a terrorist attack, but that they remained uncertain about whether it was one, the Washington Post reported. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the unfolding details of the case. "There are dead and injured. Please avoid the area," the North Rhine-Westphalia regional police wrote on their official Twitter account. "We are on site." The police told people to avoid the city centre.
#Germany #Muenster local media reports numerous casualties. Fatalities include the vehicle driver. All indications point to terrorist incident. pic.twitter.com/KovFPLVaXY
— Frank Reidy (@roscatha) April 7, 2018
Driver of vehicle that drove into German crowd has killed himself, reports AFP quoting Police
— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018
Images of the city centre surfacing on social media showed a small delivery van that appeared to have hopped onto a sidewalk off the street and plowed through the seats and tables of an outdoor cafe. Chairs were scattered and broken across a small cobblestone plaza. Vehicles have been used in terrorist attacks across Europe in recent years, including in Germany. In December 2016, a Tunisian man whose asylum request had been rejected crashed a truck through a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 56.
- With inputs from agencies
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