Gunfire at Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Hamburg, Germany Leaves Several Dead and Injured

On 9 March 2023, Thursday evening, gunfire broke out in a Church in Hamburg city of Germany in the Gross Borstel district killing several people.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: March 10, 2023

A shootout incident took place at Jehovah's Witnesses church in Hamburg, Germany at 1:45 AM on 10 March (IST). At least 6 people were killed and news about many injured has emerged. The mishap was reported after the gunfire was heard by the nearby residents. Holger Vehren, Hamburg police spokesperson said that investigations are ongoing and there are no indications about suspects till now. The perpetrator can be present at the scene or dead.

The Hamburg police have discovered a deceased person at the scene and suspect him to be a perpetrator. Until now, between 1998 and 2019, Germany has seen only five mass shootings as compared to 101 in the United States. In another report, it is being said the Hamburg shooting left 7 dead and 8 injured. There were police officers nearby the event as some of them were returning to police headquarters in Alsterdorf at their accommodations.

In 2020, a special unit USE was prepared to manage such situations. Lara Bauch, one of the witnesses said that she heard several rounds of gunfire from 20 seconds to 60 seconds apart. She also reported seeing a person running to the first floor from the ground floor of the Jehovah's Witnesses building. Several officers from the special police force and the police of Hamburg were deployed at the scene, as per Andy Grote, the Interior Minister of Hamburg.

Police have requested the public to not spread rumors and speculations about the unfortunate incident. Jehovah's Witnesses is a movement based on Christianity and founded by Charles Taze Russell in the USA in the late 19^th century. The headquarter of the movement is in New York. The police are not sure about the motive behind the shooting and are unaware of the background of the people involved.

A spokesperson stated that no indications are there of the perpetrator fleeing the scene. However, there is a hint about the involved individual being in the building, and perhaps among the dead, yet nothing is certain as of now. A lifeless person has been found in the community center, and the police are suspecting him to be the perpetrator. But to rule out that more people were responsible, the team has to carry out searches and investigations extensively.