Four people were killed and 26 injured after a van had driven into a crowd in downtown Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saturday, according to local police. “There are dead and injured,” police tweeted at 5:44 PM local time (11:44 AM NY time), “Please avoid the area. […] We are on site.”
The van ploughed into diners who were enjoying the spring weather at sidewalk tables outside the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant.
Police also tweeted: “Please do not spread rumors on Twitter and Facebook. We are on the scene. Please leave the city center and go home.”
A Police spokesman told reporters at the scene that six of the victims were in a serious condition, adding that “the suspect killed himself in the vehicle,” and noting that the identity of the suspect is not yet clear.”
Eyewitnesses reported that other suspects had been seen fleeing the van, and there appears to be a massive manhunt by police in the city, with helicopters flying overhead. The crime scene has been sealed off and police were investigating a suspicious object inside the van.