At least 6 die in shooting at Jehovah’s Witness center in Germany

Berlin, Mar 10 (EFE).- At least six people were killed and 25 others wounded when a gunman opened inside a Jehovah’s Witness Hall in the northern city of Hamburg, German media said Friday.

The shooting occurred around 9:00 pm Thursday at the three-story building in the Gross Borstel neighborhood of Germany’s second city, but authorities had yet to issue official casualty figures.

“Our measures and investigations are running at full speed. As soon as there is reliable information … we will inform you immediately at this point,” the Hamburg Police said on Twitter shortly before 1:00 am Friday.

“We found a lifeless person in a community center in GrossBorstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively,” the department tweeted about 30 minutes later.

Some news outlets put the number of dead at seven, while eight of the wounded are said to be in serious condition.

In the absence of “reliable information” about the motive for the killing spree, Hamburg Police urged people to “not share unsecured assumptions and/or spread rumors.”

Members of the denomination meet twice weekly at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness in Gross Borstel, German media said.

“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher said in a statement following the “shocking” attack. EFE jam/dr