UPDATED: German gunman kills 6 at Hamburg Jehovah's Witnesses hall
Police gave no motive for Thursday night’s attack. But they acknowledged recently receiving an anonymous tip that claimed the man showed anger toward religious groups and might be psychologically unfit to own a gun.
Officials said the gunman was a 35-year-old German national identified only as Philipp F., in line with the country’s privacy rules. Police said the suspect had left the congregation “voluntarily, but apparently not on good terms,” about a year and a half ago. “The bottom line is that an anonymous tip in which someone says they’re worried a person might have a psychological illness, isn’t in itself a basis for measures,” he said.
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.
Upon arrival, officers found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, and then heard a shot from an upper floor, where they found a fatally wounded person who may have been a shooter, according to police spokesman Holger Vehren. They did not fire their weapons.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
German gunman kills 6 in Hamburg shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses hallA gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Hamburg, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived.
Read more »
German gunman kills 6 in Hamburg shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses hallA gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Hamburg, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived.
Read more »
German gunman kills 6 in Hamburg shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses hallShots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and an unspecified number of people were killed or wounded, police said.
Read more »
Deadly mass shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses center in Hamburg stuns Germany | CNNA gunman killed six people as well as an unborn child at a Jehovah's Witnesses center in Hamburg, Germany, before turning the gun on himself as police stormed the building. Eight people were wounded, four of them seriously.
Read more »
'Several' dead in shooting in German city of HamburgBREAKING: Shooting in northern German city of Hamburg leaves at least six people dead and several more wounded, local media report
Read more »