S
everal people were killed in a church shooting in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening.
One or more people opened fire in a building used by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Gross Borstel district, authorities said.
As of 11pm Thursday, police said that several people had been killed and more wounded, but did not specify numbers.
The German tabloid Bild reported that seven people were dead and eight more injured in the shooting, with other outlets reporting six fatalities. This had not been confirmed by the authorities.
Officers said there was no immediate indication that a shooter was on the run and that it appeared likely that the perpetrator or perpetrators were either in the building or among the dead.
Hamburg Police spokesperson Holger Vehren said: “We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals.”
He said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded.
Mr Vehren said police were alerted to the shooting about 9.15 pm and were on the scene quickly.
He said that after officers arrived, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a person upstairs who may have been a shooter. He said police did not have to use their firearms.
Police had no information on the event that was under way in the building when the shooting took place, or a possible motive, describing the circumstances of the shooting as “still completely unclear”.
Residents living nearby were warned not to leave their homes amid the ongoing operation.
The Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher expressed his sorrow at the shooting.
“I extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. The forces are working at full speed to pursue the perpetrators and clarify the background,” he said shortly after 10pm.
