Muenster, Germany van crash: what we know

A van crashed into a crowd in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday, killing multiple people and injuring others.

A van crashed into a crowd in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring multiple others. A police spokesperson said that about 30 people were injured, six in critical condition, and that the driver of the vehicle shot and killed himself immediately after crashing into the crowd.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the driver’s motivations were or whether the incident was terror-related. Police have asked residents to avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub near the center of the city, where the crash took place.

What we know

• German police reported several people were killed and approximately 30 wounded when a man drove a vehicle into a group of people in Muenster, Germany, on Saturday. At least four people, including the driver, have been confirmed dead.
• Images of the area showed a small delivery van that appears to have jumped over the sidewalk and plowed through the outside area of an outdoor cafe.
• The driver, who has not been identified, shot and killed himself immediately after crashing into the crowd.
• The incident took place near the Kiepenkerl pub, a popular bar in the city’s historic downtown area.

• Authorities are treating the crash as a deliberate attack and say they are unsure whether it is connected to terrorism. Police also dispatched a bomb squad to the scene to check whether there were explosives in the van.
• “We cannot speculate about the motive at this stage but it is clear that the man who committed suicide drove a light truck into a larger group of people today,” a Muenster police spokesperson said.
• The incident invoked comparisons to a 2016 incident when a vehicle barreled into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, which killed 12 people and injured 48 others.
• Police are asking residents to avoid the area.
• A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “our thoughts are with the victims and their families” who were killed and injured.

What we don’t know

• The driver’s identity or motives.
• Exactly how many people were injured and killed.