Terrorist shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Hamburg

Several people have been killed in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting hall in the northern German city of Hamburg.

Police say one of the gunmen is believed to be dead. It was unclear whether the attacker was among the six or seven deaths reported by German media.

So far, police say, “there is no credible information about the motive.”

Several people were injured in the shooting on Deelböge Street in the city’s Gross Borstel district.

Police spokesman Holger Wehren told investigators that “there are signs that a criminal may have been in the building, and possibly among the dead.” The Associated Press reported.

The police did not have to use their guns during the incident, he said.

Mr Wehren said police heard “gunshots coming from the upper floors of the building”. He added that there were no signs of a criminal absconding.

Mr Vehran also said he had no information on the severity of the injuries of the injured who were taken to hospital.

At around 21:00 (20:00 GMT) on the federal warning app NINAwarn, an alert was sent to local residents that “persons in a church were shot by one or more unknown assailants”.

Nearby residents should not come out of their homes amid police action.

Footage shows people being led out of the meeting hall, some into ambulances.

Hamburg’s Interior Minister Andy Grote tweeted that police special forces and numerous officers had been sent to the scene.

Police appealed to the public not to share speculations or spread rumours.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are members of a Christian-based religious movement.

At the end of the 19th century, this sect was established in America under the leadership of Charles Day Russell. The movement is headquartered in New York.