Several people have been killed and others wounded in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witness centre in Hamburg last night (Thursday, March 9), reports in the German city said.
The number of attackers involved was unclear but it is believed the shooter or shooters are among the dead in the centre. Detectives said there was nothing to indicate a perpetrator on the run, and the motive for the massacre was unclear.
Police sources said that when officers arrived at the scene they found several people seriously injured and some dead. “Then they heard a shot from above, they went upstairs and found one further person,” one said.
Police spokesman Holger Vehren said: "Whether or not this was the perpetrator is not yet 100 percent clear, but at the moment we can assume it is." Investigations were going on this morning to rule out the involvement of any other people.
Earlier, an extreme danger alert had been issued as reports of the mass killing began to emerge. The alert, urging people to keep clear of the area, was issued on 'NINAwarn,' a federal app, warning that "one or more unknown perpetrators shot at people in a church."
Local residents were told to stay indoors and only to use their phones “in extreme emergency” so as not to overburden the network.
German news site BILD is reporting that there were seven people killed and about 25 injured, eight of them in serious condition. Vehren said: "We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals."
As for a possible motive, Vehren added that “the background is still completely unclear.”
Police responded to emergency calls around 9.15pm local time in Deelböge street in the Gros Borstel district last night. this morning they were using a thermal imaging camera on board a helicopter to search the area around the three-storey building.
Roads were cordoned off in the immediate area and in surrounding neighbourhoods. Authorities have asked people not to speculate or spread rumours on the motive behind the shooting as there is "no reliable information" yet.
Hamburg's mayor Peter Tschentscher called the incident "shocking" and sent his "sincere condolences" to the victims.
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