Suspected gunman, also found dead, is believed to have been former member of the religious community. The man, who was found dead at the scene, is believed to have been aged between 30 and 40 and to have used a handgun after forcing himself into the building close to the city centre. One of those killed was said by the Hamburg Abendblatt newspaper to have been pregnant, although police in Hamburg were not confirming the identities of any of those involved on Friday morning as forensics teams continued to sweep the area for clues.
The paper also reported that the suspected perpetrator, who was said to have emptied one of several magazines of bullets in the shooting, had been ejected from the church about 18 months ago for reasons unknown. A number of stretchers were also taken into the pebble-dashed three-storey building as the police reopened nearby roads to traffic. My thoughts are with them and their families. And with the security forces, who have had a difficult deployment. As news of the shooting emerged, police said a major operation was under way in the Gross Borstel district of the city.
Several streets were sealed off and the public were warned by text message to avoid the area. Police from a specialised armed unit were by chance already near the scene when the shooting happened, local media reported. They were on their way back to accommodation at their headquarters in Alsterdorf when they heard gunshots. Heiko Sander, a reporter for the local broadcaster NDR, told the news service Tagesschau that the police nearby acted after hearing several shots being fired.
They entered the building and started evacuating people, Sander said. When officers arrived at the scene they found several people seriously injured and some dead.
An unnamed witness said he heard shots being fired. During these periods, several shots were always fired, approximately 20 seconds to one minute apart. The Christian movement, founded in the US in the late 19th century, preaches non-violence and is known for door-to-door evangelism. Police are working at full speed to pursue the perpetrators and clarify the background. Germany has been rocked by several mass shootings in recent years.
