Gunman kills six at German Jehovah's Witness hall
STORY: A gunman shot dead at least six people before killing himself at a Jehovah's Witness worship hall in the German city of Hamburg.
Police and prosecutors said on Friday (March 10) the 35-year-old shooter was a former Jehovah's Witness.
An eyewitness filmed him firing through a window on Thursday (March 9) evening.
The suspect identified as "Philipp F." left the congregation "not on good terms," police said, though his motive remains unknown.
About 50 people were in the hall for an event.
The victims included four men, two women, and an unborn baby girl, whose mother survived.
Eight people were injured, some with multiple gunshot wounds, half of them critically.
Germany's government is coming under pressure.
A law on tighter gun control that Berlin is preparing stipulates would-be owners undergo a psychological suitability test, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on a visit to the scene.
This eyewitness, who gave no name, filmed the attack.
"I didn't realize at first what was happening. Then I filmed it with my mobile phone, and through the zoom I realized that someone was shooting at the Jehovah's witnesses, and while I was filming it I realized what was happening."
When police stormed the building, the shooter ran to the floor above and shot himself.
Officials praised the police for a quick response they said may have saved lives.
They said he used a semi-automatic pistol he had owned legally since December in the shooting.
Police found 15 loaded magazines of ammunition in a raid on his apartment.
They said he appeared to have acted alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was left "speechless" by the shooting in his hometown.
