Hamburg (epd). After the killing spree in a community center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hamburg, one person is still in mortal danger. A total of six people are still in the hospital, as the deputy head of Hamburg state security, Uwe Stockmann, announced on Tuesday.
On Thursday evening, a man shot dead seven people and then himself in a Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer house in the Groß Borstel district. A total of nine people were injured, seven of whom suffered gunshot wounds, it said on Tuesday.
According to Stockmann, there is now “a differentiated picture” of the alleged perpetrator Philipp F. “that shows mental abnormalities”. Chief Public Prosecutor Arnold Keller said the crime is currently being reconstructed. Philipp F.’s website and a book he had published would also be checked. The alleged perpetrator, a former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had not previously appeared criminally, he emphasized.
In December last year, Philipp F. self-published a book containing numerous anti-Semitic statements. The author also declares mass murder on behalf of God to be legitimate and Adolf Hitler to be a tool of Jesus Christ.
As for the possible motive, senior public prosecutor Keller explained that it cannot be ruled out that the alleged perpetrator acted out of hatred against the religious community. However, it cannot yet be conclusively said whether this is actually the motive for the crime.
The perpetrator had legally owned the pistol with which he committed the killing spree. Police President Ralf Martin Meyer emphasized again that he saw no errors in the work of the weapons authority. After an anonymous tip about a possible mental illness of Philipp F., the authorities checked the weapons storage during a home visit. The anonymous tip also referred to the book written by Philipp F. The officials had therefore entered the name of the alleged perpetrator and the keyword “book” on the Internet. Even if this research did not lead to any results, he could “not blame the officials” –
