CNN
—
Germany was in shock on Friday after a gunman killed six individuals in addition to an unborn youngster at a Jehovah’s Witnesses center in Hamburg, earlier than turning the gun on himself as police stormed the constructing.
The attacker, a 35-year previous German nationwide, was a former member of the Jehovah Witnesses neighborhood, in keeping with Hamburg’s state prosecutor.
German police are nonetheless looking for a potential motive after the shooter opened hearth on an occasion attended by 50 individuals on Thursday night. ”Hamburg has by no means seen a mass shooting like this,” Interior Minister Andy Grote stated at a press convention on Friday.
The gunman acted alone, Grote stated. ”There might have been extra victims if police had not intervened so rapidly,” he stated.
The mom of the unborn child that was killed survived her gunshot accidents, Hamburg police chief Matthias Tresp instructed reporters. Police stated that 4 males and two ladies – all German nationals between the ages of 33 and 60 – died in the assault.
Eight individuals have been wounded, 4 of them severely. Police stated that amongst them are six ladies and two males; six are German nationals, one injured particular person is from Uganda and one from Ukraine. The victims should not associated to the suspected perpetrator, Tresp stated.
The suspect left the Jehovah’s Witnesses neighborhood about 18 months in the past, “apparently not on good terms,” Thomas Radszuweit, a Hamburg safety official, instructed reporters Friday. He was a 35-year-old German nationwide, recognized solely as Philipp F. in line with German privateness legal guidelines.
Philipp F. was a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, however it’s unclear if he was excluded from the neighborhood or left voluntarily. The suspected shooter was not beforehand recognized to authorities in Hamburg, in keeping with Radszuweit. Why the suspect went on the shooting rampage is as but unknown, he added, and there’s no indication of a political motive.
Meanwhile Ralf Peter Anders, spokesman for the Hamburg prosecution’s workplace, stated there was “no indication of a terrorist background” to the assault.
Ralf Martin Meyer, Hamburg’s chief of police, stated investigations have been ongoing into the psychological state of the suspect, including that it was potential the suspect suffered from psychological sickness. Meyer stated he had been in authorized possession of a semi-automatic pistol since December 2022. During the assault the gunman shot 9 magazines of ammunition.
Messages of condolence poured in from politicians and non secular leaders, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denouncing the “brutal act of violence.”
Police have been referred to as to the scene at 9:04 p.m. native time (3:04 p.m. ET) Thursday night time, Grote stated. The first groups arrived at 9:08 p.m. and entered the constructing three minutes later.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany stated in a press release: “The religious community is deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a religious service.”
One unidentified witness described the second the pictures rang out in the Thursday night assault. “We heard shots,” they stated as quoted by Reuters information company. “There were 12 continuous shots. Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags.”
A neighbor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses center in Hamburg instructed CNN affiliate RTL Germany Friday: “I heard … Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. And I wondered, ‘who is still working with the jackhammer now?’ That was my first idea because you don’t hear any gunshots [around here].”
Another neighbor instructed RTL: “We were not at home at all. Our son called us that there had been a shooting across the street at the Jehovah’s Witnesses and he had even filmed parts of it, thinking it was a scare gun.”
Chancellor Scholz led politicians in denouncing the homicide spree in the northern German metropolis.
“Several members of a Jehovah community fell victim to a brutal act of violence last night. My thoughts are with them and their loved ones,” he wrote on Twitter.
He later stated the nation has been left “stunned” by the shooting. Speaking at a commerce honest in Munich Friday, the German chancellor highlighted the devastating influence of the “terrible incident” which occurred in his hometown of Hamburg. “We are stunned by this violence,” Scholz stated.
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson expressed her sorrow, writing on Twitter: “A surprising assault on a church in GrossBorstel, Hamburg final night time. My ideas are with the victims and their households.
“Thanks to @PolizeiHamburg who responded to the attack immediately and with incredible bravery.”
French President Emmanuel Macron additionally expressed his condolences. “Terrible news from Hamburg,” he stated on Twitter Friday. ”I ship France’s condolences to the family of the victims and to all our German pals. Our ideas are with them.”
Footage from the scene on Thursday night time confirmed quite a few armed cops inside and across the Kingdom Hall whereas a helicopter flew overhead. A bomb disposal crew was deployed at one level.
The streets across the place of worship have been cordoned off, and police earlier warned of “extreme danger” in the realm, the spokesperson added. Local residents have been urged to remain indoors.
There is “no confirmed information on the motive for the crime,” police stated on Twitter as they urged individuals to not share any unconfirmed assumptions.
Messages of assist additionally got here in from Hamburg’s non secular communities.
“The news of this bloody crime in Hamburg-Alsterdorf is shocking and leaves me speechless… My deepest sympathy goes to the relatives of the victims,” Father Sascha-Philipp Geissler, a senior member of Hamburg’s Catholic diocese, stated in a press release.
Shootings in Germany should not unparalleled, although rarer than in the United States. According to statistics revealed by the nation’s National Firearms Register in 2013, Germany has, per capita, the fourth-highest gun possession of any nation. However, its strict legal guidelines imply they’re largely saved out of the general public eye.
German residents require a weapons possession card to personal or purchase a gun and a weapons license to make use of or carry a loaded gun. Hunters don’t want a weapons license so long as they’ve a looking license.
Gun management legal guidelines in Germany have been additional tightened in current years after a number of shooting incidents. A brand new Weapons Act was launched in 2003 after a college shooting in Erfurt that left 16 individuals lifeless.
In January 2022, at least one person was killed after a person opened hearth on college students in a lecture corridor at Heidelberg University in southwestern Germany.
And in 2020, a mass shooting at two shisha bars in Hanau killed a number of individuals.
Clarification: This story has been up to date to make clear the variety of victims after additional info from police – six individuals and an unborn youngster.