The suspect in a mass shooting in Hamburg, Germany, was confirmed to be a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to German officials. Seven people, including an unborn baby, died while eight people were severely wounded, after being shot inside the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The shooting was committed by a 35-year-old German citizen named Philipp F., who had no previous criminal record or known association with extremist groups. Authorities investigating the tragedy have yet to determine the motive for the attack. Witnesses report seeing the perpetrator take his own life after police officers entered the building. Following the shooting, Chancellor Olaf Scholz referred to the incident as a “brutal act of violence” and Christiane Hoffmann, a spokesperson for Scholz, referred to it as a “shooting rampage” instead of a suspected terrorist attack. The suspect had a weapons license and legally owned a semi-automatic pistol. Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international church with eight million members worldwide, of which an estimated 170,000 are located in Germany.
Jehovah’s Witnesses hall shooting leaves 8 dead.
