Germany’s Hamburg (AP) – Eight persons were killed in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses hall in Hamburg, Germany, reportedly including the shooter, authorities announced on Friday. Unknown numbers of additional people suffered injuries, some of them critically.
No information was available regarding a potential reason for the incident that shocked the second-largest city in Germany on Thursday night. Former Hamburg mayor and current chancellor Olaf Scholz called it “a horrific act of violence.”
Christiane Hoffmann, a Police spokesperson, described it as a “shooting rampage” rather than a possible terrorist act.
She told reporters in Berlin, “The alleged offender shot at many persons during an event conducted by the group. “At these trying times, our thoughts are with the victims’ friends, family, and relatives.”Authorities had stated that they thought there was just one shooter and that individual might be among the victims.
According to witnesses and officials, officers entered the building while the attack was still going on and heard one additional shot as soon as they did. According to a police spokesman, they did not use their own weapons.
Horst Niens, the head of the Hamburg branch of Germany’s GdP police union, expressed his conviction that the assailant may not have injured more people had a special operations unit arrived quickly.
Germany has stricter gun rules than the United States, but they are lax compared to some of its neighbors in Europe, and shootings are not unheard of.
A seminar at Heidelberg was packed when a young guy, 18, started shooting last year.In the most recent shooting involving a site of worship, a far-right extremist attempted to force his way into a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day, in October 2019. After failing to gain entry, he shot two people to death nearby.
The German government announced plans last year to crack down on gun ownership by suspected extremists and to tighten background checks. Currently, anyone wanting to acquire a firearm must show that they are suited to do so, including by proving that they require a gun. Reasons can include being part of a sports shooting club or being a hunter.
Asked about a possible political response to the shooting, a spokesperson for Germany’s Interior Ministry, Maximilian Kall, said it was necessary to wait for the results of the investigations before drawing conclusions.
