In a mass shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, a German city, eight people have been killed. German chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the incident as a “brutal act of violence.”
The incident that happened on Thursday night left many people injured. According to the police, the gunman was thought to be dead. The police have not been able to identify the motive behind the act.
Hamburg police said, “Eight people are dead – including the alleged perpetrator. Other people were injured in the incident, some seriously.”
While the Jehovah’s Witnesses community in Germany claimed its members had been the focus of a “horrific attack,” Scholz expressed his sympathies for the victims.
“Several members of a Jehovah community fell victim to a brutal act of violence last night,” Scholz tweeted. “My thoughts are with them and their loved ones.”
“We have no indications of a perpetrator on the run”, a police spokesperson said shortly after the assault, which started Thursday night around 9 pm GMT (01:00 MUT). Later, police stated that they had discovered a “dead person” at the center who they “think could be a perpetrator,” but that further investigation was needed.
“The religious community is profoundly saddened by the horrific assault on its members at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg following a religious service,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany said in a statement.
Hamburg police reported that a significant investigation was in progress in the city’s GrossBorstel neighborhood as word of the shooting spread. The public was texted to warn them to stay away from the neighborhood as several streets were blocked off. Local residents were advised to remain indoors and only to use their phones “in extreme emergency” so as not to overburden the network.
Several armed police officers could be seen inside and around the Kingdom Hall in footage from the incident as a helicopter flew overhead. At one time, a bomb-disposal team was sent out.
Police had previously issued a warning of “extreme danger” in the region, and the area’s streets have been cordoned off, the spokesperson continued.
Residents in the area have been urged to remain inside.
