Hamburg shooting news – live: Gunman killed himself after shooting in Jehovah’s Witness hall
The scene of the shooting was a Kingdom Hall, next to a car repair shop in the Gross Borstel district, a few miles from Hamburg city centre
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A man suspected of going on a killing spree in Hamburg was a former Jehovah’s Witness, German officials say.
Police said seven people were killed – which officials said includes an unborn baby – inside a Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses while eight were hurt, including four seriously.
The gunman, a 35-year-old German citizen, turned the weapon on himself, the state interior minister Andy Grote told a briefing on Friday.
A quick police intervention prevented more people from being killed, Mr Grote said, adding that the gunman acted alone.
The scene of the shooting was a Kingdom Hall, next to a car repair shop in the Gross Borstel district, a few miles from Hamburg city centre.
Police spokesman Holger Vehren said officers were alerted to the shooting at about 9.15pm and arrived on the scene quickly.
After officers arrived and found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been the gunman, he said.
A shocking shooting in Hamburg
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the reported shooting at a church centre in Hamburg.
We’ll be following all the latest details live.
Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg
Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg.
The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovah’s Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening.
“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. “The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background.”
Get all the details in our breaking news story.
Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg
Shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district
Photos show scene outside Hamburg church
Police are in the process of investigating a shooting that claimed multiple lives at a Hamburg church centre.
Dramatic photos captured the operation, where local officials say they haven’t identified a motive behind the violence.
Witnesses describe ‘hectic' Hamburg shooting
Witnesses are beginning to recount what happened on Thursday evening during a shooting at a church centre in Hamburg.
“It was about four firing periods. During these periods, several shots were always fired, approximately 20 seconds to one minute apart,” said Lara Bauch, 23, according to The Guardian.
“I then looked further out of the window and saw a person running hectically from the ground floor to the first floor at the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” she added.
Potential body of shooter found on scene: police
Police have discovered the body of an individual who may be responsible for tonight’s shooting.
“We found a lifeless person in a community center in #GroßBorstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively,” the Hamburg police department wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday.
‘We’re shattered’: Shock in local community after church shooting
Hamburg is in shock after at least six people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness centre on Thursday evening.
“God, tonight we’re shattered, shocked,” the Archdiocese of Hamburg wrote on Twitter on Thursday in German. “Tonight our thoughts will not rest. Tonight we are with those whose lives have changed in the blink of an eye.”
The front page in Germany: ‘Bloodbath in Church!'
A shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness centre in Hamburg, Germany, has claimed upwards of six lives, according to local media.
Here’s how one publication, Bild, covered the story.
The paper described the shooting, in German, as a “Bloodbath in Church.”
How many Jehovah’s Witnesses are there in Germany?
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a minority in Germany.
The country has a population of more than 84 million people, while there are about 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses across Germany who practice in an estimated 900 Kingdom Halls, according to The New York Times.
Mass shootings are rare in Germany
The shooting on Thursday in a Jehovah’s Witness centre in Hamburg marks a relative rarity in Germany.
Compared to the United States, which often has more than one mass shooting per day, such killings are uncommon in Germany.
That said, in recent years, the country has experienced some shootings.
Here’s more information on those incidents.
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ICYMI: Mass shooting strikes Hamburg
Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg.
The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovah’s Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening.
“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. “The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background.”
Get all the details in our breaking news report.
Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg
Shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district
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