He than shot and killed himself. The incident took place at the square surrounding the Kiepenkerl statue, a city landmark that commemorates a traveling peddler. German security officials were unsure whether the incident had connections to terrorism even if the police were conducting response measures as though it were a terrorist attack. Police also dispatched a bomb squad to the scene. “There are dead and injured. Please avoid the area,” the North Rhine-Westphalia regional police wrote on their official Twitter account.”Terrible news coming out of Münster,” Deputy Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer wrote on Twitter. She added: “Our thoughts are with the victims and their relatives.” German Justice Minister Katarina Barley also expressed her condolences on Twitter and wrote that “everything must be done to clarify the situation.”
Police cars in Münster after incident
The driver hasn’t been identified. Germany has been on high terror alert for nearly two years after a series of terrorist attacks. 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.
