German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised a full investigation after a man killed two people by driving a van into a street cafe in the western city of Muenster, then fatally shot himself on the scene.
About 20 people were injured in the incident on Saturday afternoon, which recalled recent terrorist attacks using vehicles, including one on a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016 that killed 12 people. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported the dead suspect was a German national with a history of psychological trouble and that police were already searching his home for clues.
“I’m deeply shocked by the awful events in Muenster,” Merkel said in a statement. “Everything conceivable will now be done to clear up what’s behind this act and to support the victims and their families.”
The crash happened at about 3:30 p.m. in the old town of Muenster, city police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters. Television networks ran a photo said to have been taken shortly after the crash that showed overturned restaurant tables in the city’s old town on one of the first sunny weekend afternoons this spring.
Police are investigating if other attackers may have fled from the vehicle, though there’s no immediate evidence that there were accomplices, Bode said. A "suspicious item" was found in the van, which is currently being investigated.
The incident is reminiscent of an attack in the Christmas market attack in the German capital, where a Tunisian killed 12 drove a semi-truck into a crowd. Terrorists recently also used trucks in London and France to carry out attacks.
© Copyright 2024 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.