Several people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses church in Hamburg

On Thursday evening, March 9, several people were killed and several others seriously injured in a shooting in Hamburg, Germany.

The newspaper said seven people were killed and eight were seriously injured in the shooting. Pictureit is a “blood vessel”. “A large number of policemen have been deployed at the scene.”, adds the police of this port city in northern Germany on Twitter. The shooter was among those who died at the scene, police said “No sign of fugitive criminals”.

Facts happened “At the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses” From the north of the city. Police They were called around 9:15 p.m. to a report of shots fired in the building. The three sites are located in the Gross Borstel district, north of Germany’s second-largest city, a police spokeswoman told NTV channel. There are intervening forces “He quickly entered the building and found dead and seriously injured people there.”According to this spokesperson.

Officers inside also heard gunshots “Coming from the top of the building” And found another person, the speaker continued, pointing out “Can’t give any indication yet” on mobile. “In the evening, there was a demonstration of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the building.”he added.

“The news from Alsterdorf/Gross Borstel is shocking”, reacted on Twitter The mayor of the city is Peter Tzentzer, a social democrat. “Intervention forces are working hard to pursue the culprits and clarify the situation”.

A double threat to Germany

Established in 19^e In the United States, Jehovah’s Witnesses consider themselves the successors of early Christianity and continue to refer only to the Bible. The level of organization varies from one country to another: they are treated in the same way “big” Religions in Austria and Germany, a “Authorized Cult” In Denmark, as “Religious Sect” In Italy. In France, many of their local branches have achieved status“Worship Society”And this radical movement is constantly accused of sectarian aberrations.

If the motive for the shooting is unknown at this point, German authorities have been on alert in recent years to face the twin threats of terrorism, jihadism and right-wing extremism.

Germany was particularly affected by a jihadist attack on a Ram truck claimed by the Islamic State group that killed twelve people in Berlin in December 2016. The jihadist attack was the worst ever on German soil.

The other threat from the far right weighing on Germany has been illustrated by a number of deadly attacks targeting public or religious sites in recent years. In the Hanau racist attack near Frankfurt (West) in February 2020, a German involved in a coup movement killed nine youths of foreign origin.