Deadly shooting at Hamburg Jehovah's Witness hall

March 10: A number of people have been killed in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall in the north German city of Hamburg.

Police claim the gunman acted alone and is thought to be dead. It is unclear if the attacker is among the six or seven fatalities reported by German media.

As yet, "there is no reliable information on the motive", police say.

A number of people were also injured in the shooting on Deelböge street, Gross Borstel district, late on Thursday.

Police say they found a dead person at the scene who they believe may have been a perpetrator and investigations are continuing.

They were called about 21:15 local time (20:15 GMT) on Thursday to reports that shots had been fired in the building, police spokesman Holger Vehren said.

He said police had not yet identified the victims and work at the crime scene continued.

On Friday morning, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the shooting as a "brutal act of violence", saying his thoughts were with the victims and their relatives.

In a statement, the Jehovah's Witness community in Germany said it was "deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a religious service".

Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher has spoken of his shock and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

Forensic experts have been working at the scene through the night. They can still be seen in their white suits inside the brightly lit interior of the meeting house.

It is thought people had gathered, possibly for a Bible study, when the shooting began at around 21:00 local time.

A neighbour said she had heard several bursts of gunfire and, later, had seen police officers carrying people out of the building.

An alert was sent on the federal warning app, NINAwarn, at around 21:00 (20:00 GMT) telling locals that "one or more unknown perpetrators shot at people in a church".

Residents nearby were told not to leave their homes amid the ongoing police operation.

Footage showed police escorting people out of the meeting hall, some to ambulances.

Hamburg's Interior Minister, Andy Grote, said on Twitter that police special forces and a large number of officers had been deployed to the scene.

Police have appealed to the public not to share assumptions or to spread rumours.

Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a Christian-based religious movement.

(source: BBC)