No evidence of Islamist motive behind van rampage in Germany: Interior min

Berlin: A van drove into a group of people in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday, killing two bystanders before the driver shot himself, police said.

German authorities have found no evidence of an Islamist motive behind the rampage, state interior minister Herbert Reul said.

"The perpetrator who recklessly sped into a crowd of people after 3:00 pm is, according to the current stage of the investigation, a German citizen and not, as has been claimed everywhere, a refugee or something like that," Reul, of North Rhine-Westphalia state, told reporters.

"There is no indication at the moment that there is any Islamist connection," he said, after correcting the number of total dead down to three including the driver, who shot himself.

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Germany has experienced a number of terror attacks in recent years, including through the deadly use of vehicles.

In December 19, 2016, Tunisian national Anis Amri, 24, hijacked a truck and slammed it into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.