Terrible bloody deed in Hamburg: On Thursday evening in the north of Hamburg in a prayer house of Jehovah’s Witnesses, several people were killed by shots and others were injured, some seriously. The police are currently assuming it was a lone gunman.
Shortly after 9:00 p.m., police were informed of gunshots fired in a Jehovah’s Witnesses building where a church service was being held. Police officers – a special unit that happened to be near the crime scene – rushed to the building. While they were already in the house, they heard a shot from the upper floors and found another dead man there. According to the police, this could be the perpetrator. The forces did not fire any shots.
Eight people were killed in the bloody attack, including the alleged shooter, and eight others were injured, some seriously. The scene of the crime is the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is on the border between the districts of Alsterdorf and Groß Borstel in Hamburg.
According to information from security circles, the crime is classified by the police as an amok act, committed by a single perpetrator. It is unclear whether he entered the building from the outside or was already inside, for example as a participant in the event. According to the news magazine “Spiegel”, the perpetrator could be a former member of the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses: The medium reports on a Philipp F., a 35-year-old alleged ex-member who runs an ominous website on which various consulting services are offered at a daily rate are offered from 250,000 euros. It has not been confirmed whether he is actually the perpetrator.
According to the Hamburger Abendblatt, 17 other people who were unharmed attended the event. They were taken care of by the fire brigade after the crime.
There is also still a lack of clarity about the detailed chronological sequence of the shots. A neighbor reported: “It was about four firing periods. During these periods, several shots were always fired, approximately 20 seconds to a minute apart. I then looked further out the window and saw a person running frantically from the ground floor to the first floor at the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) has announced a press conference on the status of the investigation for Friday afternoon.
note i.e. Red.: Added information about the alleged perpetrator according to Spiegel information