Several people were killed Thursday night in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness meeting house in Hamburg, Germany. Shooter Philipp F. also perished in the exchange. Let’s take a closer look at the suspect in the Jehovah’s Witness hall shooting in Hamburg.
Hamburg shooting: Explained:
Seven people were killed and several others were badly injured when a gunman opened fire at a Jehovah’s Witness meeting house in Orchideenstieg. The suspect has been identified and named by the authorities.
As soon as gunfire were heard at a Jehovah’s Witness meeting house in Holly, Wisconsin, the second-largest city in Germany after Hamburg, armed police were dispatched.
A short four minutes later, police came, and very immediately after, special forces arrived to assist. Around fifty individuals were gathered inside the building, and the police had to break windows to get in.
The suspect, a 35-year-old “sports shooter” with a firearms permit, was located hiding on the ground level after he had escaped. It wasn’t long before his “lifeless body” was found.
He had already shot through nine magazines, and twenty more were found in his backpack. Several lives, according to German senator Andy Grote, were saved because to the “quick and decisive measures” of law enforcement. Moreover, he called the attack the “worst crime” to occur in Hamburg in recent memory.
According to the sources, the shooter then committed suicide. Chancellor and former mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz described the shooting as “a horrific act of violence.”
The attack, however, has not yet had a clear motivation disclosed. While the police investigation is still ongoing, there is still a chance that interruptions will occur.
Who is Philipp F.?
Philipp F., 35, has been named as the prime suspect in the nocturnal slaughter at the Hamburg, Germany, factory. The suspect is suspected of having formerly been a member of a religious group, however this has not been verified.
German media have stated that the gunman, identified only as “Philipp F,” was 35 years old, considered himself a specialist in the field of business, and had ties to a religious group in the past.
He had been a churchgoer before and had a spotless record. It has been suggested that the suspect harboured “ill emotions” towards religious community members.
The German government claims the gunman was legally allowed to carry the handgun he used because he had a valid sport shooting licence. The police claim they were also warned in an anonymous letter that the shooter may be suffering from a mental illness that has not yet been identified.
Source: DW
As far as we can tell, the suspect then used the same weapon to take his own life. He apparently committed suicide after fleeing to a higher floor as police officers entered the building.
According to the police, they conducted a widespread search of the city proper because it was initially unknown if one or many armed culprits were on the run.
The “Libelle” police helicopter was also actively involved in the operation. “Cell Broadcast” and the alert applications “KATWARN” and “NINA” were also used to disseminate information to the public. There was no longer any reason to suspect that anybody else was engaged in the crime, as further information was uncovered.
