(NewsGlobal.com)- Seven individuals were murdered in the Alsterdorf neighborhood of Hamburg, northern Germany, according to a news report from Europe.
The report called the incident a “bloodbath” and said that eight more people were hurt in the shooting, which took place around 9 p.m. local time.
According to a German weekly magazine, the shooting rampage was reportedly carried out at a local Jehovah’s Witness center, a place of worship.
Hamburg Police stated on social media that preliminary information suggests a gun was discharged inside a Kingdom Hall in the GroßBorstel neighborhood. Several individuals were hurt, and several of them died. The police had a sizable force already there at the scene.
Local media have named the shooter as Philipp Fusz, a self-employed business consultant who killed four men and two women and an unborn child whose mother managed to escape.
The death toll might rise since eight individuals were hurt, four of them critically. There are six Germans, one Ugandan, and one Ukrainian among them. There has never been a mass shooting like this in Hamburg before.
The report shows that after being pursued by special forces unit into the hall and up to the first floor of the three-story building near the city center, Fusz, who had quit the Jehovah’s Witness religion 18 months before, shot and killed himself with his firearm.
The suspect was in possession of an HK P30 and was a legitimate gun owner due to his marksman’s license, which he obtained in 2022.
A letter was received implying Fusz had exhibited special hatred towards members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and his previous employer, and he may be struggling with untreated mental problems.
During a news conference, Chief Of police Ralf Martin Meyer said that the suspect had no prior criminal history and that there were no valid reasons to seize his firearm.
