BERLIN (AP) — A deputy leader of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party is apologizing for falsely blaming a fatal van attack in Muenster on Islamic extremists.

Beatrix von Storch said on her Facebook page Thursday that "I made a mistake with my tweet about Muenster and I'm sorry."

The apology comes after widespread criticism of her tweet suggesting Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door refugee policy was to blame after a man drove into a crowd Saturday.

When authorities revealed the van's driver to be a German with no known extremist links, von Storch initially doubled down, tweeting that the suspect was an "imitator of Islamist terror."

In her Facebook post she took one more swipe at the chancellor, saying "I don't ever want to be like Angela Merkel who doesn't admit her mistakes."