Mass shooting in Hamburg Germany at a Jehovah's Witness temple leaves at least seven dead.

 

Police at the scene of the shooting. AFP. 

A mass shooting in Hamburg Germany at a Jehovah's Witness kingdom hall left at least seven people dead and 25 wounded. The Guardian/AFP. The gunman is believed to be one of the dead and it is unclear what the motive for the attack was. By happenstance a tactical police unit was near the scene of the attack and managed to evacuate many people, including a pregnant woman. Mass shootings are not unheard of in Germany and they have had several in recent years. Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian group that has a small presence in Germany, but it was unclear if they were specifically targeted in the attack. 

My Comment:

Not a lot of details about this attack at this time. Even the number of casualties were not available in most posts. Since that is the case keep in mind that some of the information might end up not being accurate if you are reading this late. 

I always say that it is important to highlight mass shootings that happen in other countries. The American media has done everything they can to make it seem like mass shootings are an American only problem. But Germany has the same problem we have but with all the gun control laws that the American media wants. It's clear that guns aren't the problem. 

As for this attack it's hard to speculate on who is responsible. Germany has radical Muslims, far right and far left groups and even lone nutjobs on the lose so it could be pretty much anything at this point. Without more information about the attacker it's pretty pointless to speculate about the motivations that inspired this attack. 

It is probably relevant that the attack was at a Jehovah's Witness hall. The Jehovah's Witness group has faced quite a bit of prejudice in the past, including during the Holocaust. Their beliefs are a bit outside of the mainstream but I never found anything particularly upsetting about their beliefs. They were often hated for their pacifism but I doubt that is what this attack was about. 

The only thing I can think of for targeting them specifically is that they have had some problems with sexual abuse of children. Much like the Catholic Church, they have been accused of hiding sexual abuse cases. I don't know how relevant that is in Germany but I guess someone could have been upset about it. 

Regardless, the attack itself was pretty devastating despite the presence of police in the area. It sounds like the shooter probably killed himself, so this attack was not very long in duration. However, it's possible that some of the wounded were incidental injuries other than gun shot wounds. Thinks like trips, falls and flying glass shards cold have caused some of the injuries. 

I do wonder if more lives could have been saved if the police had prioritized engaging and killing the shooter instead of evacuating the civilians. Given the circumstances I doubt it. It does not seem like this attack lasted very long at all so I am guessing there was very little the police could do.