Police in Germany were warned about the suspect in a mass shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses hall in Hamburg but failed to act, reports suggest.
Thomas Radszuweit, the head of state security for the city in northern Germany, described the suspect, named only as Philipp F, as “a former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses who left the community voluntarily about a year and a half ago, but apparently not on good terms.”
Concerns about his mental health and an ammunition purchase were reported to police in January, according to the Guardian, but he managed to convince officers there was no reason for them to be concerned over the course of two visits and he retained his legally-held Heckler & Koch P30.
Police chief Ralf Martin Meyer has further claimed that officers had no legal grounds to deprive him of the firearm in comments to the press.
Seven People Reportedly Shot Dead, Eight Injured, in ‘Bloodbath’ Church Attack in Hamburg, Germanyhttps://t.co/pH5rL2c5he
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 9, 2023
It is believed he used this weapon in his attack on Thursday, which saw four men and two women shot dead. One of the victims was heavily pregnant, with it now being reported that her unborn baby has been counted among the shooter’s seven victims.
A further eight people have been wounded, with half of them in a serious condition.
The shooter, currently believed to have acted alone, is also dead, having turned his gun on himself after a SWAT-style police team stormed the building and began to pursue him to its higher levels.
“The religious community is deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a religious service,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses have said in a short statement.
Hamburg Mass Shooting: AP Overview of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany https://t.co/FDzYuvKzgi
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 10, 2023
This story is developing…
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