Seven people dead after shooting in Jehovah’s Witness church in Hamburg

German police believe the gunman responsible for a mass shooting in Hamburg killed himself after shooting dead six others in a Jehova’s Witness church just after 9pm on Thursday evening.

Hamburg police found eight seriously injured and 17 uninjured people when they arrived at the “Kingdom Hall” in the Alsterdorf area, north of the city centre, after responding to emergency calls.

Warning of a “major operation” police sealed off the Alsterdorf area, north of the city centre, and urged locals to stay at home and others to avoid the area.

Police in riot gear surrounded the building within minutes, warning that a perpetrator was possible still at large,. At 1.40am they reported finding a dead person “where we assume that it could be a perpetrator”.

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One neighbour said she heard periods of shooting lasting up to a minute.

“I looked out of the window and saw over at the Jehovah’s Witnesses how someone ran from the ground floor to the first floor,” said Ms Lara Bauch, a neighbour, to local media.

As they arrived at the scene, Hamburg police sent a message to residents’ mobile phones warning: “Find protection immediately in a building. Only telephone in an emergency so that the phone network doesn’t collapse.” Police said they had no immediate indications of a motive for the attack in the residential district between the city centre and the airport. The website of the hall indicated Thursday evening was one of two weekly prayer meetings, with a reported 40 people attending.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former governing mayor of Hamburg, described the shooting as a “brutal act of violence”. He said his thoughts were with the families of the dead “and the security forces who have a difficult night behind them”.