【2023. 3. 10 Germany】
German “Jehovah’s Witnesses” church shooting: at least 7 dead, police believe the murderer has died
“A mass shooting occurred in a church in Hamburg. The police believe that the gunman is dead, and the motive for the attack is still unknown.” A shooting occurred in the northern German city of Hamburg on the evening of March 9, local time. The incident occurred in a local “Jehovah’s Witnesses” church , It is known that at least 7 people were killed and 25 were injured, 8 of whom were seriously injured. The Hamburg police stated that one of the dead people found at the scene was suspected to be the gunman. The police are still conducting investigations, cordoning off the scene and surrounding areas, and calling on residents to stay indoors. The gunman’s motive is still under investigation.
The shooting took place at the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses on Deelbögestrasse Street at the junction of Groß Borstel and Alsterdorf in Hamburg. The local police received a report at around 9:15 p.m. The content indicated that shots had been fired in the church building. The police rushed to the scene immediately – “German News Agency” reported that a special police force was returning to the headquarters in the Astordorf district at the time of the incident and happened to pass by nearby, so following the gunshots came out, a large number of police forces arrived quickly.
Police spokesman Holger Vehren pointed out that when the police entered the church building, they saw many wounded with gunshot wounds and dead people who had died, and then heard gunshots from higher floors, and went upstairs to check and found a dead person . The police believe that the gunman is likely to be the deceased, and said that as of now, there is no sign that the gunman escaped.
The shooting resulted in at least 7 deaths and 25 injuries, 8 of which were seriously injured. The police launched a large-scale operation in the Greater Bostel area. Several roads were blocked. People received text messages telling them to avoid Greater Bostel. Residents in the area were warned of danger and told to stay indoors and use their phones only in “extreme emergencies” to avoid overloading the area’s mobile network.
At present, the church building is cordoned off, dozens of police cars and fire engines have blocked the streets in the area, and armed police officers are patrolling the area.
An unnamed witnessArchyde.com“We heard gunshots, 12 shots…then we saw people being taken away in black bags,” he said.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher expressed shock at the shooting, writing on Twitter: “My deepest sympathies to the families of the victims. The police are pursuing and clarifying the case at full speed.”
The identities of the victim and the shooter are still under investigation. The police said that the shooter’s motive is still unclear and there are no reliable clues at present. They appeal to the public not to spread rumors or speculation.
The whole case is still under investigation, and the police did not disclose more details, but unfounded speculation on Twitter seems to have begun to ferment, just like following several major social incidents in the past, doubts without evidence came once more once morest immigrants: some netizens When discussing the case at the beginning, they posted a video of a conversation of an immigrant appearance, but other netizens pointed out that the video was taken in 2016 and obviously had nothing to do with the case; another Twitter account posted a video of a Middle Eastern appearance with a gun, but the video The street scene of the location in the video is obviously inconsistent with the local area in Hamburg. Some netizens responded that the background of the film is Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses Church, where the shooting took place, is not a traditional Christian denomination. It is a new religion that does not agree with the basic creed of the “Trinity” of Christianity. Its doctrines are quite different from traditional Christian denominations. The Jehovah’s Witnesses sect was established in the United States at the end of the 19th century and is headquartered in New York. It is known for its door-to-door evangelism. There are regarding 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany, including 3,800 in Hamburg.
There have been many shootings in Germany in recent years, including in February 2020, a gunman suspected of being related to the far right killed nine people, including several Turkish immigrants, in the western German town of Hanau; mother and committed suicide.
In October 2019, a gunman also shot and killed two people outside a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
