2023 mass murder in Hamburg, Germany
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, killed himself 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 &amp; Koch P30 semi-automatic handgun. The woman escaped unharmed. The gunman then fired 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.
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 killed himself.
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.
Casualties.
The casualties included four men and two women, aged 33 to 60, as well as an unborn baby. Eight people were injured, four critically. The injured include the baby's mother, who was seven months pregnant. All six fatalities were German, and the eight injured were six Germans, one Ugandan and one Ukrainian.
Perpetrator.
The suspect was later identified as Philipp Fusz, a single man aged 35. On his website, Fusz described himself as a business consultant who grew up in a "strict evangelical household" in Kempten, Bavaria. He was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, had no criminal record, and was not known as an extremist. In 2022, he self-published a book called "The Truth About God, Jesus Christ and Satan: A New Reflected View of Epochal Dimensions". 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.
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.
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. On the other hand, a political reason has been ruled out by officials.
Reactions.
On the advice of the security authorities, the Hamburg congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses began conducting their services digitally.
On their website, the Jehovah's Witnesses expressed their "deep sorrow" about the fatal shooting. 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.
The Catholic and Protestant churches expressed their sympathy. 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.
References.
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