2023 Hamburg shooting
Refer to caption
The Kingdom Hall
2023 Hamburg shooting is located in Hamburg
2023 Hamburg shooting
2023 Hamburg shooting (Hamburg)
2023 Hamburg shooting is located in Germany
2023 Hamburg shooting
2023 Hamburg shooting (Germany)
LocationJehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall, on Deelbögestrasse, Hamburg, Germany
Coordinates53°36′09″N 09°59′25″E / 53.60250°N 9.99028°E / 53.60250; 9.99028
Date9 March 2023 (2023-03-09)
c. 9:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. (CET, UTC+01:00)
Attack type
Mass murder, mass shooting, murder–suicide
WeaponHeckler & Koch P30
Deaths8 (including the perpetrator and an unborn child)
Injured8
PerpetratorPhilipp Fusz
Flowers laid down in front of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Hamburg-Alsterdorf after a shooting two days before. In addition, there is a sign with the inscription: "Trauer und Wut über das fehlende Waffenverbot" (translated to English: "Mourning and anger over the lack of a weapons ban").

On 9 March 2023, a mass shooting occurred at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Alsterdorf quarter, Hamburg, Germany. The shooter, identified as Philipp Fusz, entered the building during a service and opened fire, killing six adults and an unborn child, and injuring eight others. Fusz, a former Jehovah's Witness, took his own life minutes later. He had no criminal record and was not a known extremist. Police received an anonymous letter indicating he was angry at Witnesses and his former employer, which may help them determine a motive.

Shooting

On 9 March 2023, at around 9:00 p.m., a woman sitting in her car outside the Kingdom Hall on Deelbögestrasse was fired upon by a lone gunman wielding a Heckler & Koch P30 semi-automatic handgun. The woman escaped unharmed. The gunman then proceeded to fire 10 more rounds through a window of the hall before entering. 36 people were physically attending a service at the time of the shooting, while others were watching online. The gunman fired a total of 135 rounds.[1]

Police responded to emergency calls and arrived at the scene at 9:08. A specialized armed unit from the Alsterdorf police station that was in the area at the time also arrived and forced entry into the three-story building at 9:09. They encountered the gunman and pursued him upstairs, where he subsequently took his own life.[1]

A neighbor captured some footage of the shooting, which shows an individual entering the building through a window, followed by gunshots. The figure then exits the building and is seen in the courtyard before firing more shots through a first-floor window. After the shots are fired, the lights are turned off.[2]

Casualties

The casualties included four men and two women, aged 33 to 60,[1] as well as an unborn baby. Eight people were injured, four critically.[1][3][4] The injured include the baby's mother, who was seven months pregnant.[3] All six casualties were German, and the eight injured were six Germans, one Ugandan and one Ukrainian.[1]

Perpetrator

The suspect was later identified as Philipp Fusz, a single man aged 35.[1] On his website, Fusz described himself as a business consultant who grew up in a "strict evangelical household" in Kempten, Bavaria.[1] He was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, had no criminal record,[5][6] and was not known as an extremist.[7][8] In 2022, he self-published a book called The Truth About God, Jesus Christ and Satan: A New Reflected View of Epochal Dimensions.[1] In it, he claims to have had prophetic dreams, to have visited hell for three years and to have had an "angelic audience" and "angelic fans". It interpreted the Russian invasion of Ukraine as God's cleansing of Ukrainian sex workers.[9]

Fusz held a gun permit and permission to keep his P30. In January 2023, police had received an anonymous letter saying he had "particular anger against religious members or against the Jehovah's Witnesses and his former employer", but after interviewing him on 7 February, found no legal reason to cancel the permit or confiscate the gun.[1]

According to Arnold Keller, the spokesperson for the Hamburg prosecutor's office, considering the past history of Philipp F. and the Jehovah's Witnesses, it is not possible to completely rule out the possibility that the perpetrator acted out of animosity towards this particular community. However, it is unclear if this was the definitive motive for the crime.[10] On the other hand, a political reason has been ruled out by officials.[11]

Reactions

On the advice of the security authorities, the Hamburg congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses began conducting their services digitally.[12]

On their website, the Jehovah's Witnesses expressed their "deep sorrow" about the fatal shooting.[13] A funeral service was held on 25 March 2023 and was attended by up to 4,000 members of the faith community, including 50 Hamburg congretioners, relatives and survivors, as well as representatives of the Jehovah's Witness World Headquarters and the Central Europe branch. Representatives from politics and the authorities, including Mayor Peter Tschentscher, had also been invited.[14][15]

The Catholic and Protestant churches expressed their sympathy.[16] On 19 March 2023, the Archdiocese of Hamburg, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany and the Working Group of Christian Churches in Hamburg held an ecumenical memorial service in the main Protestant Church of Saint Peter. Representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses supported the commemoration but did not take part themselves.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Daniel Boffey (10 March 2023). "Hamburg police were tipped off about gunman, but did not take his weapon". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  2. ↑ De Cristofaro, Pietro; Moulson, Geir (10 March 2023). "German gunman kills 6 in Hamburg shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses hall". 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 Hill, Jenny; McGarvey, Emily (10 March 2023). "Hamburg shooting: Seven killed in attack on Jehovah's Witness hall". BBC News. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Shooter Attacks Attendees at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany", jw.org, 21 March 2023, retrieved 21 March 2023
  5. ↑ Luyken, Jorg (10 March 2023). "Jehovah's Witness mass shooter in Hamburg named as Philipp Fusz". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Jehovah's Witness mass shooter in Hamburg named as Philipp Fusz". MSN. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  7. ↑ SWP (10 March 2023). "Amoklauf in Hamburg: Acht Tote bei Angriff auf Zeugen Jehovas". swp.de (in German). Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  8. ↑ deutschlandfunk.de. "Tödliche Schüsse bei Zeugen Jehovas - Entsetzen über Amoktat in Hamburg". Die Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Schulz, Sven Christian (9 March 2023). "Amoktäter Philipp F. über sich selbst: "Durchlief über drei Jahre eine persönliche Höllenreise"". RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "1 victim's life still in danger after Hamburg shooting". AP NEWS. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Alkousaa, Riham; Schwartz, Jan; Alkousaa, Riham (10 March 2023). "German gunman kills six, unborn child, at Jehovah's Witness hall - police". Reuters. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  12. ↑ NDR. "Nach Amoklauf in Hamburg: Zeugen Jehovas weiter unter Schock". www.ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Hamburg, Hamburger Abendblatt- (10 March 2023). "Zeugen Jehovas "tief betroffen" nach Tat in Hamburg". www.abendblatt.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  14. ↑ NDR. "Amoktat: Tausende zu Trauerfeier der Zeugen Jehovas erwartet". www.ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Hamburg, Hamburger Abendblatt- (25 March 2023). "Gedenkfeier der Zeugen Jehovas für Opfer der Amoktat". www.abendblatt.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Reaktionen auf Gewalttat in Hamburg: Steinmeier spricht von "Tag des Schmerzes"". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Ökumenischer Gedenkgottesdienst nach Amoktat von Hamburg". www.nordkirche.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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