THE man who drove a van into a crowd in the German city of Munster was well-known to police after several run-ins with the law, according to prosecutors.
The unnamed 48-year-old killed a 51-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman and injured 20 others on Saturday afternoon outside a bar in the city’s old town before shooting himself dead inside the van.
The man, who is believed to have acted alone, was a Munster resident and apparently well-off. His four apartments were searched by police along with several cars.
Investigators were reluctant to speculate on a motive. “We have no indications that there is a political background or that others were involved,” prosecutor Elke Adomeit told reporters. “But he was well known to the police.”
The man had three previous court procedures in Munster and one in nearby Arnsberg in 2015 and 2016. Charges involving threats, property damage, fraud and a hit-and-run had all been dismissed.
Local media reports identified the man as an industrial designer who had been suffering psychological problems, but police would not confirm the details.
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