Gunman shoots seven people dead before killing himself, during church service in Germany

Seven people were shot dead at a Jehovah’s Witness church next to a car repair shop on Thursday night in Germany’s Gross Borstel District before the gunman turned the gun on himself, according to the police.

According to police spokesman Holger Vehren, officers were informed of the shooting at around 9.15 p.m. They quickly responded to the scene and discovered victims on the ground floor of the building who appeared to have been shot.

Vehren added that officers, subsequently, heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been the gunman and acted alone with unclear motives.

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Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, called the shooting “a brutal act of violence”.

Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher expressed his condolences to the victims’ families on Twitter on Thursday.

Local media outlets reported that at least 25 people were seriously injured in the shooting, which took place during a Bible study.

“The police presence in the neighborhood is gradually being reduced. Investigative work into the crime’s history is ongoing, Hamburg Police tweeted earlier on Friday.