Germany: man faces murder probe after car hits children

BERLIN (AP) — A man in Germany faces a murder investigation after he apparently deliberately drove into a group of schoolchildren, killing an eight-year-old girl and seriously injuring two other girls, authorities said Monday.

Friday’s incident outside a day care center in Witzenhausen, near the central city of Kassel, was initially thought to be an accident. But police and prosecutors said Monday that a witness account and an expert evaluation now lead them to suspect that the 30-year-old local man actively steered the car into the children.

They said in a statement that prosecutors have opened an investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. Investigators also established that the driver is suspected to be suffering from a psychiatric illness and sent him to a psychiatric hospital.

They said there was no indication that he had an extremist or terrorist motive.