Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – In a tragic shooting eight people died at a Jehovah’s Witness center in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday night, after a gunman opened fire at the center.
Police did not disclose the number of people injured in the attack or give any details on the attacker’s suspected motives, but called on witnesses to come forward and send any information they may have through a specific website.
German outlet Der Spiegel reported that the suspected attacker was a 30 to 40 year old man who was a former member of the Jehovah’s Witness community but was not known as an extremist.
Police also believe that the gunman was acting alone, and that they are among the dead.
Video footage taken by nearby eye-witnesses showed a person firing shots into the building from a first-floor window, with one witness saying he heard at least 25 shots. Another witness said that there were “four periods of shooting.”
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher described the shooting as “shocking” and offered “deepest sympathies to the victims’ families.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also took to Twitter to condemn the attack.
“Several members of a Jehovah’s Church fell victim to a brutal act of violence last night. My thoughts are with them and their families,” he wrote.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international Christian denomination founded in the US in the 19th century, whose members are known for evangelistic acts such as distributing literature in public spaces and knocking on doors.
The denomination gained the same legal status granted to Germany’s leading religions in 2017.
