Last night, a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses church in Hamburg left eight people dead and several others seriously injured. The perpetrator has been identified as 35-year-old former member Phillip F.
According to German tabloid Bild, he allegedly opened fire through a window of the “Kingdom Hall” building with a pistol before storming inside. The police found him dead among the victims, and officials believe he acted alone and killed himself. The victims were attending a Bible study meeting at the church when the attack happened.
In grainy footage taken from a distance, the suspect can be seen standing at a window, firing multiple shots into the building.
Witnesses reported hearing 12 continuous shots, but the video suggests there were many more. After the attack, a large emergency response quickly descended on the scene, and armed police were seen storming the church and working their way upstairs while pointing their guns up a stairwell.
Phillip F. grew up in Kempten in the Allgäu region in a strictly religious family. He left high school and trained as a bank clerk before settling in Hamburg after studying business administration and living abroad on several occasions.
He describes himself as “multicultural” and “a self-confessed European” on his website. The police are still working to determine his motive.
Germany has been rocked by several attacks in recent years, both by jihadists and far-right extremists. The country remains a target for jihadist groups, especially because of its participation in the anti-Islamic State coalition in Iraq and Syria.
However, Germany has also been hit by several far-right assaults, sparking accusations that the government is not doing enough to stamp out neo-Nazi violence or groups plotting attacks. This is a breaking news story, and more updates are expected to follow.