At least 2 dead, 20 injured after van crashes into pedestrians in German city of Muenster

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Several killed after van crashes into crowd in Germany At least 3 people are dead and 20 injured after a van crashed into a crowd in in the German town of Muenster.

A driver of a delivery truck plowed into a crowd of pedestrians Saturday in the German city of Muenster, killing at least two people and injuring 20 before fatally shooting himself, German officials said.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state where Muenster is located, said the driver of the van was a German citizen. He stressed the investigation is at an early stage but "nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background.”

Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper identified the driver as a 49-year-old German with a history of psychological problems.

Adreas Bode, spokesman for the German police, said six of the injured were in severe condition.

The driver slammed into people sitting in front of the Kiepenkerl pub, a popular gathering place for residents and tourists in Muenster's historic old town, then shot and killed himself inside the vehicle.

Photographs of the scene posted on social media show strewn tables and chairs.

Police cordoned off a wide section of the area after finding a suspicious object inside the vehicle.

Muenster Mayor Markus Lewe said the reason for the crash is still unclear.

“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” a spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Muenster, with a population of 300,000, is located in northwest Germany in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia about 30 miles from the Dutch border.

In 2016 in Berlin, the driver of a stolen truck plowed the vehicle into a crowd of people attending the Christmas market in a public square, killing 12 people.

Contributing: The Associated Press