Six months ago, Philipp F, 35, left the Jehovah’s Witnesses. On Thursday, he climbed into his old congregation through a window in the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg. Once inside, he fired over 100 shots, killing six adults, an unborn child and injuring eight more people. About 50 people were in the premises of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hamburg, Germany during Thursday evening. The congregation’s meeting came to a brutal end when former member Philipp F, 35, smashed a window and climbed inside. He was heavily armed and carried a rucksack containing 20 fully loaded magazines. On witness footage from the scene, shots after shots can be heard as the 35-year-old makes his way around the building. The alarm about the ongoing shooting came to the police at 21:15 – but German police had already received tips that Philipp F’s mental state was so bad that he should be stripped of his gun license. “The worst crime in our city’s history” Four of the murder victims were men and two were women between 33 and 60, as well as an unborn child. A further eight people were injured, four of them seriously. Of the injured, six were women and two were men, German police announced at a press conference on Friday. – It is the worst crime in our city’s history. We have never seen anything like this, says Andy Grote, a high-ranking politician in Hamburg. Once the police stormed the kingdom’s hall, they saw the 35-year-old running up a flight of stairs. When the police arrive, he has chosen to end the mass murder by committing suicide. According to prosecutors, the motive has not been established, but it has been possible to rule out that it would be politically motivated. “Like being buried alive” Sweden’s Karoline Englund left Jehovah’s Witnesses five years ago. Today, she runs a non-profit association that helps others leave closed religious communities. She tells TV4 Nyheterna that the ostracism that takes place can be devastating for those who choose to leave. – It’s like being buried alive. Your whole life is taken away from you, you have no social network. They tell your loved ones to cut off contact completely, she says. Karoline Englund chooses to share her experience in the hope of helping other people to leave the congregation. – It is important to draw attention to the fact that exclusion and ostracism can lead to this type of event. It is terribly tragic what has happened now – but I think it can happen several times, she says. In the clip above: TV4 Nyhetern’s Mikael Nilsson reports directly from Hamburg
t4-general
Philipp, 35, murdered six adults and an unborn child
