In a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness house of worship in Hamburg, Germany, eight people were killed, including the shooter, authorities reported on Friday.
On Thursday, shortly after 9 p.m. (2000 GMT), police received a call. When officers arrived on the site, they discovered several critically injured and deceased victims.
More individual was discovered upstairs after they heard a shot from above, according to a police spokesperson.
According to the Bild newspaper, eight people were hurt in the shooting at the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in the northern city home to Germany’s largest port.
Television footage showed dozens of police cars, fire engines, and individuals being ushered into a bus by emergency personnel as others were wrapped in blankets.
One Unnamed Witness Told Reporters
“We heard shots. He claimed that there was 12 continuous gunfire. “Then we witnessed the removal of individuals in dark bags.”
The Jehovah’s Witnesses were thought to have been the gunman’s old community, according to Spiegel magazine. According to the article, which cited unnamed sources, the man was between 30 and 40 and was not recognized by the authorities as an extremist.
Yuri Kageyama also covered the news on Twitter:
Breaking News: Some dead in shooting at Jehovah's Witness hall in Germany (from @AP) https://t.co/hzrXgxnwB2
— Yuri Kageyama (@yurikageyama) March 9, 2023
A Hamburg police representative could not confirm the information, but they did mention a press conference scheduled for 11:00 GMT.
Police sent a statement on Twitter stating that they believe there is only one perpetrator, given the circumstances.
“Police operations in the neighborhood are gradually being stopped. The reasons for the crime are still being looked into.”
A reporter on the site earlier reported to Germany’s DPA news agency that inhabitants in the city’s northern Alsterdorf area had received mobile phone alerts of a “life-threatening situation” and that street had been closed.
In the past several years, there have been several shootings that have shocked Germany. In the western town of Hanau in February 2020, a shooter with alleged far-right ties killed nine people, including immigrants from Turkey, before taking his life and that of his mother.
On the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur in October 2019, a shooter opened fire outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle, killing two people.
The tragedy on Thursday shocked Hamburg’s mayor.
“I send the victims’ families my sincere condolences. The forces are moving swiftly to find the offenders and provide light on the circumstances, “On Twitter, Peter Tschentscher remarked.
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