Several people were killed and others were seriously injured in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness hall Thursday night in Hamburg, according to police.
Police said they received reports of a shooting at around 9pm local time in the northern port city, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz was a former mayor and where his successor Angela Merkel was born. Local media reported that six or seven people were killed in an event for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Shots were fired after officers arrived at the scene and found an injured person on the top floor of the building who may have been the shooter, although that is still uncertain, according to reports.
The police said to Twitter that the motivation for the attack was still under investigation and urged people not to spread rumors online.
The authorities first sent a warning locals are advised to avoid the area and stay indoors for the time being.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher called the news is “shocking.”
“My deepest condolences go out to the victims’ relatives,” Tschentscher tweeted. “Emergency services are working intensively to trace the culprit(s) and clarify the background.”