2023 Hamburg shooting

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = 2023 Hamburg shooting

| image = Königreichssaal Alsterdorf 2023.1.nnw.jpg

| alt = Refer to caption

| caption = The Kingdom Hall at 17 Deelbögestrasse in the Alsterdorf quarter of Hamburg, where the attack took place.

| map = {{Location map|Hamburg

| lat_deg = 53.6023224

| lon_deg = 9.9900928}}

| location = Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall, on Deelbögestrasse, Hamburg, Germany

| coordinates = {{Coord|53|36|09|N|09|59|25|E|display=inline,title}}

| date = {{start date and age|2023|03|09|df=yes}}

| time-begin = {{Circa}} 9:00 p.m.

| time-end = 9:11 p.m.

| timezone = CET, UTC+01:00

| target = Jehovah's Witnesses members

| type = Mass murder, mass shooting, murder–suicide

| weapon = Heckler & Koch P30 semi-automatic pistol

| fatalities = 8 (including the perpetrator and an unborn child)

| injuries = 8

| perpetrator = Philipp Fusz

| motive = Hatred towards Jehovah's Witnesses and his former employer (possible)

}}

File:Blumengedenken Zeugen Jehovas Amoktat Hamburg 2023 (2).jpg

On 9 March 2023, a mass shooting occurred at a Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall in the Alsterdorf quarter of Hamburg, Germany. The shooter, identified as 35-year-old Philipp Fusz, entered the building after a service was held there and opened fire, killing six adults and an unborn child, and injuring eight others before killing himself minutes later. Fusz was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, had no previous criminal record, and was not a known extremist. Police received an anonymous letter indicating he was angry at Witnesses and his former employer, which may help them determine a motive.

Shooting

On the evening of 9 March 2023, a service was held at the Kingdom Hall on Deelbögestrasse in the Alsterdorf quarter of Hamburg, which ran from 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. and was physically attended by 36 people, with others watching online via a livestream.{{Cite web |last=NACHRICHTEN |first=n-tv |title=So lief der Amoklauf von Hamburg ab |url=https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/So-lief-der-Amoklauf-von-Hamburg-ab-article23976318.html |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=n-tv.de |language=de}} 50 people were present inside the building, according to Hamburg police chief Matthias Tresp, when the gunman arrived at around 9:00 p.m., shortly after the service had ended.{{Cite web |last=Mediengruppe |first=FUNKE |date=2023-03-10 |title=Zeugen-Jehovas-Sprecher: Amoklauf begann nach Gottesdienst |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article237861607/Zeugen-Jehovas-Sprecher-Amoklauf-begann-nach-Gottesdienst.html |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.abendblatt.de |language=de}}{{Cite web |last1=De Cristofaro |first1=Pietro |last2=Moulson |first2=Geir |date=2023-03-10 |title=German gunman kills 6 in Hamburg shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses hall |url=https://6abc.com/hamburg-germany-shooting-in-kingdom-hall-jehovahs-witness/12937621/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=6abc Philadelphia |language=en}} Armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a large quantity of ammunition, he opened fire outside the building, shooting ten rounds into a vehicle that was about to pull out of the parking lot. The female driver escaped with minor injuries and alerted the police.

The gunman then shot ten more rounds through the window of a ground-floor meeting room before entering the building and shooting indiscriminately, killing and injuring several people. A total of 135 rounds from nine 15-round magazines were fired during the attack,{{Cite web |title=Amoktat: Amoktäter bei Zeugen Jehovas ist Ex-Gemeindemitglied |url=https://www.rnz.de/politik/panorama_artikel,-Amoktat-Amoktaeter-bei-Zeugen-Jehovas-ist-Ex-Gemeindemitglied-_arid,1072832.html#google_vignette |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung |language=de}} with the police later finding an additional 24 magazines at the scene—22 in the gunman's backpack and two more on his body.{{Cite web |last=tagesschau.de |title=Was bisher über die Schüsse in Hamburg bekannt ist |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/hamburg-amoklauf-zeugenjehovas-kenntnisstand-101.htm |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de}} A neighbor captured amateur footage of the shooting, which shows an individual entering the building through a window, followed by gunshots. The figure then exits the building and is seen in the courtyard before firing more shots through a first-floor window. After the shots are fired, the lights are turned off.

The first emergency calls were made at 9:04 p.m.{{Cite news |date=2023-03-10 |title=Hamburg: Gewalttat bei den Zeugen Jehovas - »Einsatzkräfte haben vielen Menschen das Leben gerettet« |url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/hamburg-gewalttat-bei-den-zeugen-jehovas-in-alsterdorf-a-cfcc4c19-7d0e-4016-8291-3060f6cc7596 |access-date=2025-04-21 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}} First responders arrived at 9:08 p.m., including a specialized armed unit from the Alsterdorf police station, who forced entry into the three-story building one minute later. They encountered the gunman and pursued him to the second floor, where he committed suicide by shooting himself in the stomach at 9:11 p.m.{{Cite web |last=Rascher |first=Raven Louisa |date=2023-03-10 |title=Amoklauf Hamburg: Philipp F. tötete sich mit einem Bauchschuss |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article403937776/schiesserei-amoklauf-bluttat-hamburg-polizei-zeugen-jehovas-alsterdorf-gross-borstel-tote-verletzte-deelboege-schuesse-kind-mutter-opfer.html |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.abendblatt.de |language=de}} A total of 953 police officers were deployed in the wake of the attack, including 52 Federal Police officers and special forces personnel from Schleswig-Holstein.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-10 |title=Schüsse in Hamburg: Die Pressekonferenz der Polizei im Livestream |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/hamburg-zeugen-jehovas-tote-amok-1.5766330 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Süddeutsche.de |language=de}}

Casualties

The casualties included four men and two women, aged 33 to 60, as well as an unborn baby. Eight people were injured, four critically.{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Jenny |last2=McGarvey |first2=Emily |title=Hamburg shooting: Seven killed in attack on Jehovah's Witness hall |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64910415 |access-date=10 March 2023 |work=BBC News |date=10 March 2023}}{{citation |url = https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/germany/Shooter-Attacks-Attendees-at-Kingdom-Hall-in-Hamburg-Germany/ |title = Shooter Attacks Attendees at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany |access-date=21 March 2023 |work=jw.org |date=21 March 2023}} The injured include the baby's mother, who was seven months pregnant. All six fatalities were German, and the eight injured were six Germans, one Ugandan and one Ukrainian.

Perpetrator

The suspect was later identified as Philipp Fusz, a single man aged 35. On his website, Fusz described himself as a business consultant who grew up in a "strict evangelical household" in Kempten, Bavaria. He was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, had no criminal record,{{Cite news |last=Luyken |first=Jorg |date=2023-03-10 |title=Jehovah's Witness mass shooter in Hamburg named as Philipp Fusz |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/10/hamburg-shooting-jehovah-witness-germany-police-motive-attack/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |issn=0307-1235}}{{Cite web |title=Jehovah's Witness mass shooter in Hamburg named as Philipp Fusz |url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/jehovahs-witness-mass-shooter-in-hamburg-named-as-philipp-fusz/ar-AA18rPa8 |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=MSN |language=en-GB}} and was not known as an extremist.{{Cite web |last=SWP |date=2023-03-10 |title=Amoklauf in Hamburg: Acht Tote bei Angriff auf Zeugen Jehovas |url=https://www.swp.de/panorama/attacke-in-hamburg-schiesserei-in-hamburg-mit-mehreren-toten-und-verletzten-69623249.html |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=swp.de |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=deutschlandfunk.de |title=Tödliche Schüsse bei Zeugen Jehovas - Entsetzen über Amoktat in Hamburg |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/entsetzen-ueber-amoktat-in-hamburg-100.html |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=Die Nachrichten |language=de}} In 2022, he self-published a book called The Truth About God, Jesus Christ and Satan: A New Reflected View of Epochal Dimensions. In it, he claims to have had prophetic dreams, to have visited hell for three years and to have had an "angelic audience" and "angelic fans". It interpreted the Russian invasion of Ukraine as God's cleansing of Ukrainian sex workers.{{Cite web |last=Schulz |first=Sven Christian |date=March 9, 2023 |website=RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland |title=Amoktäter Philipp F. über sich selbst: "Durchlief über drei Jahre eine persönliche Höllenreise" |url=https://www.rnd.de/panorama/amoklauf-in-hamburg-schuetze-ex-zeuge-jehovas-autor-philipp-f-ueber-persoenliche-hoellenreise-LBUMR42SGBH6TO6KGHIXYONSZQ.html |access-date=March 11, 2023}}

Fusz held a gun permit and permission to keep his P30. In January 2023, police had received an anonymous letter saying he had "particular anger against religious members or against the Jehovah's Witnesses and his former employer", but after interviewing him on 7 February, found no legal reason to cancel the permit or confiscate the gun.

According to Arnold Keller, the spokesperson for the Hamburg prosecutor's office, considering the past history of Philipp F. and the Jehovah's Witnesses, it is not possible to completely rule out the possibility that the perpetrator acted out of animosity towards this particular community. However, it is unclear if this was the definitive motive for the crime.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-14 |title=1 victim's life still in danger after Hamburg shooting |url=https://apnews.com/article/germany-hamburg-shooting-jehovahs-witnesses-victims-3c81751b79106805ae49f69aa99021e1 |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}} On the other hand, a political reason has been ruled out by officials.{{Cite news |last1=Alkousaa |first1=Riham |last2=Schwartz |first2=Jan |last3=Alkousaa |first3=Riham |date=2023-03-10 |title=German gunman kills six, unborn child, at Jehovah's Witness hall - police |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/least-six-dead-after-shooting-hamburg-focus-online-media-2023-03-09/ |access-date=2023-03-10}}

Reactions

On the advice of the security authorities, the Hamburg congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses began conducting their services digitally.{{Cite web |last=NDR |title=Nach Amoklauf in Hamburg: Zeugen Jehovas weiter unter Schock |url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Nach-Amoklauf-in-Hamburg-Zeugen-Jehovas-weiter-unter-Schock,amoklauf152.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.ndr.de |language=de}}

On their website, the Jehovah's Witnesses expressed their "deep sorrow" about the fatal shooting.{{Cite web |last=Hamburg |first=Hamburger Abendblatt- |date=2023-03-10 |title=Zeugen Jehovas "tief betroffen" nach Tat in Hamburg |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article237855135/Zeugen-Jehovas-tief-betroffen-nach-Tat-in-Hamburg.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.abendblatt.de |language=de-DE}} A funeral service was held on 25 March 2023 and was attended by up to 4,000 members of the faith community, including 50 Hamburg congretioners, relatives and survivors, as well as representatives of the Jehovah's Witness World Headquarters and the Central Europe branch. Representatives from politics and the authorities, including Mayor Peter Tschentscher, had also been invited.{{Cite web |last=NDR |title=Amoktat: Tausende zu Trauerfeier der Zeugen Jehovas erwartet |url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Amoktat-Tausende-zu-Trauerfeier-der-Zeugen-Jehovas-erwartet,amoklauf176.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.ndr.de |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=Hamburg |first=Hamburger Abendblatt- |date=2023-03-25 |title=Gedenkfeier der Zeugen Jehovas für Opfer der Amoktat |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article237988153/Gedenkfeier-der-Zeugen-Jehovas-fuer-Opfer-der-Amoktat.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.abendblatt.de |language=de-DE}}

The Catholic and Protestant churches expressed their sympathy.{{Cite news |title=Reaktionen auf Gewalttat in Hamburg: Steinmeier spricht von "Tag des Schmerzes" |language=de-DE |work=Der Tagesspiegel Online |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/panorama/reaktionen-auf-gewalttat-in-hamburg-spitzenpolitiker-und-kirchenvertreter-zeigen-sich-zutiefst-betroffen-9478571.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=1865-2263}} On 19 March 2023, the Archdiocese of Hamburg, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany and the Working Group of Christian Churches in Hamburg held an ecumenical memorial service in the main Protestant Church of Saint Peter. Representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses supported the commemoration but did not take part themselves.{{Cite web |title=Ökumenischer Gedenkgottesdienst nach Amoktat von Hamburg |url=https://www.nordkirche.de/nachrichten/nachrichten-detail/nachricht/oekumenischer-gedenkgottesdienst-nach-amoktat-von-hamburg |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.nordkirche.de |language=de-DE}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite news |author=Boffey |first=Daniel |date=2023-03-10 |title=Hamburg police were tipped off about gunman, but did not take his weapon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/10/hamburg-shooting-police-jehovahs-witness-germany |access-date=2023-03-10 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}

}}

External links

{{cite news |url= https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/germany/Thousands-Attend-Memorial-Service-for-Victims-of-the-Hamburg-Shooting/ |title= Thousands Attend Memorial Service for Victims of the Hamburg Shooting |work=jw.org |date=2023-04-10 |access-date=2023-04-10}}

Category:2023 mass shootings in Europe

Category:2023 murders in Germany

Category:2023 deaths

Category:2020s in Hamburg

Category:21st-century mass murder in Germany

Category:Anti-Christian sentiment in Germany

Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2023

Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Germany

Category:Attacks on churches in Europe

Category:Hamburg-Nord

Category:Infanticide

Category:Child murder in Germany