Bio

Jens Alexander Rüther was born on 1 May 1969. Media reports said he was born about an hour south of the city of Münster in Germany.

He came from the Sauerland region. He grew up in the village of Madfeld.

He attended school in the area and graduated from the high school Petrinum Brilon.

Murder Story

On 7 April 2018 a man drove a gray Volkswagen California camper van into people seated outside restaurants in a pedestrianised square in the old part of Münster.

He drove into several cafe and restaurant terraces. The attacker then shot himself dead. The van was later found to be booby-trapped with a pistol connected to a wire.

The attack initially killed three people, including the attacker, and injured about 20 others, six of them seriously. Another victim died on 26 April. A Dutch victim who had been in a coma after the attack died on 29 July. In total four people were killed.

Before the attack, Münster had been planning to install security bollards in public areas, but the list of high-risk spaces did not include the location of this attack. In November 2021 the site was secured with road barriers.

Media identified the attacker as 48-year-old Jens Alexander Rüther. Reports said he had previously suffered from psychiatric illness. State officials said there was no indication of an Islamist background and later ruled out right-wing extremism as a motive.

Authorities judged the crime to be an extended suicide for personal reasons. They also said they considered other possible personal motives, including relationship problems.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was deeply shocked. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his condolences to the victims and their relatives. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin condemned the crime and offered their sympathies. A public memorial service was held the following Sunday.