Police in the German city of Hamburg say that 7 people have been killed and many injured in a shooting at the church of a Christian sect called Jehovah's Witnesses.
Police say the gunman was alone during the shooting and was shooting at himself. It is possible that he also died in this incident. The reasons for the attacker's firing have not yet been determined.
Dramatic footage has now emerged showing the suspect firing indiscriminately through a hall window.
According to Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect was a former member of a religious community, aged between 30 and 40 years.
The victims have not been identified yet, and investigations are underway at the scene. The police say they have found the body of one person at the scene who they believe could be the attacker. Police spokesman Holger Werner said they were called to the location on Thursday at around 9 pm local time via an emergency call. We were informed that shots were fired in a building located on Deilbacher Street, Grass Borsdorff district. Inside, officers encountered people who had been severely injured with firearms and some had already died. The officers heard gunfire from the upper floor of the building and went up, where they found another person. We have not received any indications so far that any perpetrators have escaped. It is believed that people were gathered at the location, possibly for a Bible study, when the firing started at around 9 pm local time.
Gregor Meisbach, who recorded a video from the window of the first floor of the attacker firing shots, told Bild newspaper, "I didn't understand what was happening. I was filming with my phone and only felt through the zoom that someone was shooting at members of Jehovah's Witnesses."
He said, "I heard the sound of gunfire... I saw a person with a flamethrower and filmed him firing shots from my window."
Lara Bauch, a 23-year-old student who lives nearby, told DPA news agency, "There were almost four explosions - several shots were fired in each explosion - with intervals of 20 seconds to one minute."
She said she could see a person running from the ground floor to the first floor from her window. "The person was wearing black clothes and was moving quickly."
Around 9 pm local time, a warning was issued on the federal warning app "NINAwarn" to local residents, informing them that "one or more unknown perpetrators have fired shots at people in the church."
During the police operation, local residents were told not to leave their homes.
Footage shows police leading people out of the meeting hall towards several ambulances.
The Interior Minister of Hamburg...
The reasons behind the shooting are still completely unclear. On Friday morning, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a "brutal act of violence" and expressed his condolences to the victims and their families.
In a statement, the Jehovah's Witness community in Germany said it was "deeply saddened" by the horrific attack on its members after a religious service at the Kingdom Hall in Hildesheim.
Franz K, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, worked inside a room in the church all night.
Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a Christian religious movement that was founded in the late 19th century in the United States.
According to their latest report from 2022, the movement has approximately 8.7 million members worldwide, including around 170,000 in Germany.
It is estimated that there are around 4,000 members of the organization in the city of Hildesheim.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses are known for going from house to house to share the gospel message and distribute literature.
This Christian group believes that traditional Christian denominations have strayed from the true teachings of the Bible and are not working in complete harmony with God.
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