Three people have been killed and 26 injured after a vehicle ploughed into pedestrians in the German city of Münster, with police confirming that the driver of the vehicle has also killed himself.
Unconfirmed reports are suggesting that the suspect is a 48-year-old German with a history of mental issues. It is believed that police are currently searching his apartment.
The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, public broadcaster ZDF and news agency DPA said the assailant was "psychologically disturbed" with no known links to "terrorism".
Police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters at the scene that six of those injured were in a serious condition and confirmed that the driver was dead.
"The suspect killed himself in the vehicle. The identity of the suspect is not yet clear," he said. However, he said it was too early to describe the incident as an attack, although witnesses have indicated that additional suspects could have potentially fled from the vehicle.
There's a mass police operation ongoing in the city, with helicopters seen overhead and investigators searching the crime scene. Firefighters are tending to the injured and various police and firefighting vehicles are also at the scene, which is now sealed off to the public as police investigate a potentially suspicious object in the vehicle.
The van ploughed into people sitting outside on a warm afternoon in Münster, crashing into tables outside of the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant in the historic centre of the city. The restaurant is a popular tourist attraction in the picturesque city of 300,000 residents.
Police also urged people to refrain from spreading "speculation" about the incident.
Münster Mayor Markus Lewe said the reason for the crash is still unclear.
Lino Baldi, who owns an Italian restaurant in Muenster near the scene of the crash, told Sky TG24 that the city center was packed due to a Saturday market and summer-like temperatures.
Münster is a city of around 300,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, to the west of Germany near the border with the Netherlands. Around a fifth of the population are students, and there are four universities within the city. It is also known as the bicycle capital of Germany.
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