‘No indication’ of terrorism in Münster van ramming, state minister says

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Perpetrator committed suicide after killing 2 in van attack.

There is “no indication” the man who drove a vehicle into a crowd in the German city of Münster on Saturday, killing several people, had connections to radical Islam, according to authorities.

Two people were killed in the incident, Interior Minister of North-Rhein Westphalia Herbert Reul confirmed at a press conference late Saturday. The perpetrator, later identified as a 48-year-old German citizen, committed suicide in the van.

The victims were identified as a 51-year-old woman from Lüneburg and a 65-year-old man from Borken. Their names were withheld, as is customary in Germany.

At least 20 more were injured in the incident, which took place outside a restaurant in the city’s busy historical center. Several are in critical condition.

Media reports that the driver of the van was “mentally disturbed” have not been confirmed by police.

“As of now, we don’t have any leads regarding a possible background for the deed,” Prosecutor Martin Botzenhardt wrote in a joint statement with police on Sunday.

German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer, expressed their condolences and thanked the emergency services on the scene.

“Münster is mourning,” the city’s mayor, Markus Lewe, said.

 

Source: politico.eu

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