Gunman Among 8 Dead In Shooting At A Church In Germany, Police Issue 'Extreme Danger' Warning
Seven people died while many others were left injured in a shooting incident at a church in Germany’s Hamburg town on Thursday night.
Germany Shooting: Eight people died including the gunman, while many others were left injured in a shooting incident at a church in Germany’s Hamburg town on Thursday night. The incident occurred at a Jehovah's Witness church, reported AFP.
The Guardian reported that around 25 are wounded in the incident with eight seriously injured in the shooting at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness in a northern district of Hamburg, Germany.
Bislang liegen keine gesicherten Informationen zu dem Tatmotiv vor.
— Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) March 9, 2023
Wir bitten darum, keine ungesicherten Vermutungen zu teilen und/oder Gerüchte zu streuen. #schießerei #hh0903
According to the Police, the shooting took place at around 9 PM (local time). The Hamburg police alerted people to an ‘extreme danger’ in the area advising them to stay indoors, reported The Guardian.
Emergency alert sent to people in Hamburg, Germany after mass shooting pic.twitter.com/fv9Rsuembs
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) March 9, 2023
The motive of the attack is not clear so far, the police said, according to reports.
As per The Guardian's report, a broadcaster NDR quoted a police spokesperson saying that at about 9 PM (local time), one or several unknown perpetrators shot at people in the church. “The dead people all have gunshot wounds,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Earlier, hours after the shooting, police said that the gunman is believed to be among the dead, the Guardian cited AFP.
“We have no indications of a perpetrator on the run,” a police spokesperson at the scene was quoted as saying by The Guardian. He added that investigators have “indications that a perpetrator may have been in the building and may be even among the dead.”
Hamburg’s mayor, Peter Tschentscher, tweeted calling the attack ‘shocking’.
“The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator (s) and to clarify the background,” he said
Die Meldungen aus Alsterdorf / Groß Borstel sind erschütternd. Den Angehörigen der Opfer gilt mein tiefes Mitgefühl. Die Einsatzkräfte arbeiten mit Hochdruck an der Verfolgung des / der Täter & der Aufklärung der Hintergründe. Bitte beachten Sie die Hinweise der @PolizeiHamburg. https://t.co/38UcdguLzH
— Peter Tschentscher (@TschenPe) March 9, 2023
This is the second shooting incident at a Jehovah’s Witness centre in less than six months, reported The Guardian. In December, police in Thornton, Colorado, had found two adults dead in a suspected murder-suicide at a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall on Christmas morning.