Hamburg shooting news – live: Gunman kills seven then himself in attack on Jehovah’s Witness church in Germany

A gunman shot dead seven people at a Jehovah’s Witness church centre in Germany yesterday, before turning the weapon on himself, police say.

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 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.

Police believe the gunman acted alone. A motive for the shooting has still not been declared.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, described the shooting as “a brutal act of violence.”

“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter yesterday.

David Semonian, a US-based spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said in a statement early on Friday that members “worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event”.

Key Points

• Eight killed in Jehovah's Witness Church shooting in Hamburg

• Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police

• Police yet to ascertain motive behind shooting

• Witnesses heard 'four periods of shooting'

• 'Brutal act of violence' says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Watch: Multiple dead in shooting at Jehovah’s Witness church in Hamburg

09:10 , Emily Atkinson

Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘worldwide grieve for the victims’, says US spokesperson

08:39 , Emily Atkinson

David Semonian, a US-based spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said in an emailed statement early on Friday that members “worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event”.

“The congregation elders in the local area are providing pastoral care for those affected by the event,” he wrote.

“We understand that the authorities are still investigating the details of this crime. We appreciate the courageous help provided by the police and emergency services.”

At a glance: Jehovah's Witness beliefs, history in Germany

08:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Several people were killed and injured Thursday night after shots were fired inside a building where Jehovah’s Witnesses met in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said.

The international Christian denomination founded in the United States has a more than 100-year history in Germany.

Today, about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the denomination’s website.

Read more in this report by the Associated Press:

At a glance: Jehovah's Witness beliefs, history in Germany

Eight including gunman killed, police say

07:46 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Eight people have been killed and several others wounded in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness church centre in Hamburg, Germany.

Police gave the figure on their website.

A possible motive for the shooting has still not been declared.

Police said that the deaths included the gunman who is believed to have acted alone.

ICYMI: Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg

07:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg.

Lucy Skoulding, Josh Marcus report:

Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg

Who are Jehovah's Witnesses?

06:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Multiple people were killed at a Jehovah’s Witness church in Germany by a gunman who police believe acted alone.

There are about 170,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany.

They are part of an international church, founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York.

It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million.

Members are known for their evangelistic efforts that include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares.

The denomination’s distinctive practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.

Police yet to release official death toll

05:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

After a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness church in Hamburg, Germany, police are yet to release an official death toll.

“We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals,” police spokesperson Holger Vehren was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

He said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded.

Police did not confirm German media reports, which named no sources, of six or seven dead.

Witnesses heard 'four periods of shooting'

05:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

“There were about four periods of shooting,” said student Laura Bauch, who lives near the Jehovah’s Witness church in Germany where multiple people were killed.

“There were always several shots in these periods, roughly at intervals of 20 seconds to a minute,” she was quoted as saying by German news agency DPA.

She said she looked out her window and saw a person running from the ground floor to the second floor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses hall.

Gregor Miesbach, who lives within sight of the building, said to German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots.

After police arrived, one last shot followed about five minutes later, he said.

Police had no information on the event that was underway in the building when the shooting took place.

Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police

04:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

While police in Hamburg have declined to say how many people have been killed at a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness church, they believe that the gunman was among the dead.

In a statement on Twitter, police said they are discontinuing operations at the shooting site.

“According to the current state of affairs, we assume that there is one perpetrator,” police said.

“Police activities in the surrounding area are being successively discontinued. Investigations into the motives behind the crime are continuing.”

Unit of armed police already in area when shooting broke out

03:30 , Josh Marcus

German police swarmed a Jehovah’s Witness facility in Hamburg after a shooting left multiple people dead on Thursday evening.

As it happened, officers from a specialised armed unit were already in the area when violence broke out.

“Police officers happened to be near the crime scene because they were on their way back to their accommodation at the police headquarters in Alsterdorf,” Welt reported.

Jehovah’s Witnesses faced history of persecution in Germany

03:00 , Josh Marcus

Jehovah’s Witnesses, like a variety of minorities in Germany, were targeted for persecution by the Nazis, as members of the group refused to join the Nazi party or let their children into the Hitler Youth.

“By 1939, an estimated 6,000 Witnesses (including some from Austria and Czechoslovakia) were detained in prisons or camps,” according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Others fled Germany, continued their religious observance in private, or ceased to observe altogether.”

ICYMI: Mass shooting strikes Hamburg

02:30 , Josh Marcus

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

Mass shootings are rare in Germany

02:00 , Josh Marcus

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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Six dead after gunman opens fire in Germany

How many Jehovah’s Witnesses are there in Germany?

01:40 , Josh Marcus

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.

The front page in Germany: ‘Bloodbath in Church!'

01:25 , Josh Marcus

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.”

‘We’re shattered’: Shock in local community after church shooting

01:10 , Josh Marcus

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.”

Potential body of shooter found on scene: police

00:55 , Josh Marcus

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.

Witnesses describe ‘hectic' Hamburg shooting

00:41 , Josh Marcus

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.

Photos show scene outside Hamburg church

00:23 , Josh Marcus

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.

Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg

00:11 , Josh Marcus

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

A shocking shooting in Hamburg

00:10 , Josh Marcus

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.