GERMANY
Shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall left eight people dead.
By AFP
Published March 11, 2023
Investigators are still seeking a motive for the attack on Thursday evening, which left eight other people wounded - Copyright AFP Daniel Reinhardt
Sebastian BRONST et Léa PERNELLE à Francfort
Details are emerging about the gunman who shot dead six Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany, painting a picture of a disturbed businessman who battled paranoia and penned an apocalypse-themed book.
Police identified the killer as Philipp F., a 35-year-old ex-member of the Christian group who targeted the congregation at a Hamburg meeting hall before turning the gun on himself.
Investigators are still seeking a motive for the attack on Thursday evening, which also left eight people wounded.
– Journey to hell –
On Amazon, Philipp F. was promoting his self-published book, “The Truth about God, Jesus Christ and Satan”, a mix of business management advice and fundamentalist prose.
It’s now been removed from the site, but German media said it details his three-year “personal journey to hell” and describes a “higher heavenly government” with 101 million spiritual beings.
Philipp F. says he was brought up in a strict evangelical family and reportedly had “prophetic dreams” in childhood.
The 292-page book presents the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine as divine punishments, and outlines fears of a third world war.
The writing expresses pro-Russian and misogynistic views, according to Der Spiegel newspaper.
– Troubled businessman –
The gunman’s professional website is packed with references to the Bible and Liverpool football club.
He backs the end of combustion engines and advocates for the “maximisation of happiness in the lives of humans and animals”.
It is full of prophecies, too — he foresees a “major shift in the architecture of the world we live in” and in the sky “where ghost people live”.
On his web page and LinkedIn account, Philipp F. presented himself as a successful businessman.
He offered consulting and general management services for 250,000 euros ($266,162) a day, justifying the princely sum with his self-professed ability to “generate added value of 2.5 million euros” for companies.
He also advertised his “holistic” approach encompassing “theology and law”.
The single entrepreneur lost his job in 2020 and described himself as a self-employed financial consultant, though his website does not mention any recent assignments.
Investigators say he appeared to be embroiled in disputes with several companies, filing criminal complaints including against a Bavarian firm where he was previously employed.
– Anger and warnings –
Police said the gunman left the religious community around a year and a half ago, “apparently not on good terms”.
By some accounts he chose to leave, but other witnesses said he was shunned. The Bild newspaper reports that he was excluded following the publication of his apocalyptic business book.
An anonymous tip-off was sent to the weapons control authority in January. It claimed that Philipp F. may have been suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness and had a “particular anger against religious members or against the Jehovah’s Witnesses and his former employer”.
Police visited him at his modest flat, in a grey building in the west of the Hanseatic city, but said they did not find anything of serious concern and left, saying he had been “cooperative”.
He was little known in his neighbourhood, according to German media.
Raids following the shooting uncovered 15 magazines loaded with 15 bullets each and four further packs of ammunition with about 200 rounds.
He was legally in possession of the weapon he used in the attack.
A debate has erupted in Germany over the effectiveness of the country's gun control laws after this week's mass shooting at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in the northern city of Hamburg.
On Thursday evening, Philipp F., a 35-year-old German citizen and a former member of the congregation, went on a shooting spree and killed eight people, including himself.
The police said the motive for the crime remains unknown.
Authorities had received an anonymous tipoff that the perpetrator might have psychological issues but the police gave him the all-clear during a surprise visit to his property.
Hamburg gunman was former Jehovah's Witness
What are politicians saying?
On Saturday, several German politicians demanded urgent reviews of restrictions on weapons ownership, including Marcel Emmerich, the interior affairs expert of the Greens Party in parliament.
"This terrible act has shown that legal gun owners can use their guns to do bad things in this society," Emmerich told public broadcaster NDR Info. "Fewer guns in private hands ensure more public safety."
At present, Germany requires only those under 25 to undergo medical or psychological assessments before being granted a gun license, which another Greens Party lawmaker, Irene Mihalic, told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) was "more than questionable."
"As firearms are dangerous to life in the wrong hands, all applicants should be required to provide such reports, regardless of age. Appropriate aptitude tests should also actually have to be repeated at regular intervals," she added.
Sebastian Hartmann, the interior spokesperson for the Social Democrats (SPD) in parliament, told the RND that any reform of gun-control legislation must strengthen the authority to confiscate weapons as well as improve the exchange of data about owners.
Other politicians were keen to avoid a knee-jerk reaction, saying that current legislation is already strong enough.
"Mentally ill persons are not allowed to possess firearms. It is good and right that the weapons law already unambiguously regulates this today," Konstantin Kuhle, deputy chair of the business-friendly FDP parliamentary group, told the German news agency DPA. Therefore, "hasty demands for legislative consequences" are "not necessary," he added.
In a separate interview with the Funke media group, Kuhle questioned why police refrained from revoking the weapons permit from the Hamburg shooter.
Jochen Kopelke, chairman of the GdP police union, said that the "perceived increasing number of [shooting] incidents" in Germany made it imperative to tighten laws speedily rather than conduct a systematic review that could take too long.
"Medical establishments must prioritize and quickly process documents related to weapons controls. Nowhere should there be delays due to staff shortages or long data protection processes," Kopelke added.
Draft law devised after Halle and Hanau shootings
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had already presented a draft of new gun control legislation in January, prompted by recent deadly shooting incidents in Germany.
The perpetrator of the 2020 Hanau shooting was a schizophrenic far-right extremist who was found to have legally owned several pistols. Eleven people were killed and five others were wounded in the rampage at a shisha bar, another bar and a kiosk.
The gunman behind the Halle shooting in October 2019 built his own firearms, some with plastic parts from a 3D printer. Two people were killed and two others injured near a synagogue.
The proposed reforms include a ban for private citizens on semi-automatic weapons, similar to military weapons or the AR-15 and its replicas.
The term "semi-automatic" refers to the loading process in which a bullet is fired when the trigger is pulled and the weapon is then automatically reloaded.
Such weapons are regularly used in mass shootings in the United States, while in Germany the number is still limited.
Faeser promises to fill 'gaps' in gun laws
Faeser told ARD's Tagesthemen (Daily Topics) program on Friday night that she wanted to revisit the proposals for possible "gaps."
In the future, when an application is made for a weapon possession card, it should be checked "whether someone is psychologically suitable," she said, adding that better coordination between authorities was necessary.
The proposed reforms would also abolish the age limit for medical or psychological tests, meaning all applicants for gun licenses would be required to undergo them at their own expense.
However, the murder weapon used in Hamburg, a semi-automatic pistol, would not fall under the ban.
The alleged perpetrator was registered as a sports shooter and legally owned the weapon.
mm/fb (AFP, dpa, EPD)
By AFP
Published March 11, 2023
Investigators are still seeking a motive for the attack on Thursday evening, which left eight other people wounded - Copyright AFP Daniel Reinhardt
Sebastian BRONST et Léa PERNELLE à Francfort
Details are emerging about the gunman who shot dead six Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany, painting a picture of a disturbed businessman who battled paranoia and penned an apocalypse-themed book.
Police identified the killer as Philipp F., a 35-year-old ex-member of the Christian group who targeted the congregation at a Hamburg meeting hall before turning the gun on himself.
Investigators are still seeking a motive for the attack on Thursday evening, which also left eight people wounded.
– Journey to hell –
On Amazon, Philipp F. was promoting his self-published book, “The Truth about God, Jesus Christ and Satan”, a mix of business management advice and fundamentalist prose.
It’s now been removed from the site, but German media said it details his three-year “personal journey to hell” and describes a “higher heavenly government” with 101 million spiritual beings.
Philipp F. says he was brought up in a strict evangelical family and reportedly had “prophetic dreams” in childhood.
The 292-page book presents the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine as divine punishments, and outlines fears of a third world war.
The writing expresses pro-Russian and misogynistic views, according to Der Spiegel newspaper.
– Troubled businessman –
The gunman’s professional website is packed with references to the Bible and Liverpool football club.
He backs the end of combustion engines and advocates for the “maximisation of happiness in the lives of humans and animals”.
It is full of prophecies, too — he foresees a “major shift in the architecture of the world we live in” and in the sky “where ghost people live”.
On his web page and LinkedIn account, Philipp F. presented himself as a successful businessman.
He offered consulting and general management services for 250,000 euros ($266,162) a day, justifying the princely sum with his self-professed ability to “generate added value of 2.5 million euros” for companies.
He also advertised his “holistic” approach encompassing “theology and law”.
The single entrepreneur lost his job in 2020 and described himself as a self-employed financial consultant, though his website does not mention any recent assignments.
Investigators say he appeared to be embroiled in disputes with several companies, filing criminal complaints including against a Bavarian firm where he was previously employed.
– Anger and warnings –
Police said the gunman left the religious community around a year and a half ago, “apparently not on good terms”.
By some accounts he chose to leave, but other witnesses said he was shunned. The Bild newspaper reports that he was excluded following the publication of his apocalyptic business book.
An anonymous tip-off was sent to the weapons control authority in January. It claimed that Philipp F. may have been suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness and had a “particular anger against religious members or against the Jehovah’s Witnesses and his former employer”.
Police visited him at his modest flat, in a grey building in the west of the Hanseatic city, but said they did not find anything of serious concern and left, saying he had been “cooperative”.
He was little known in his neighbourhood, according to German media.
Raids following the shooting uncovered 15 magazines loaded with 15 bullets each and four further packs of ammunition with about 200 rounds.
He was legally in possession of the weapon he used in the attack.
Hamburg shooting sparks debate on Germany's gun laws
March 11, 2023
Politicians have questioned why the gunman's weapon wasn't confiscated after concerns were raised about his psychological health. The shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall left eight people dead.
Politicians have questioned why the gunman's weapon wasn't confiscated after concerns were raised about his psychological health. The shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall left eight people dead.
VIDEO https://p.dw.com/p/4OYGe
A debate has erupted in Germany over the effectiveness of the country's gun control laws after this week's mass shooting at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in the northern city of Hamburg.
On Thursday evening, Philipp F., a 35-year-old German citizen and a former member of the congregation, went on a shooting spree and killed eight people, including himself.
The police said the motive for the crime remains unknown.
Authorities had received an anonymous tipoff that the perpetrator might have psychological issues but the police gave him the all-clear during a surprise visit to his property.
Hamburg gunman was former Jehovah's Witness
What are politicians saying?
On Saturday, several German politicians demanded urgent reviews of restrictions on weapons ownership, including Marcel Emmerich, the interior affairs expert of the Greens Party in parliament.
"This terrible act has shown that legal gun owners can use their guns to do bad things in this society," Emmerich told public broadcaster NDR Info. "Fewer guns in private hands ensure more public safety."
At present, Germany requires only those under 25 to undergo medical or psychological assessments before being granted a gun license, which another Greens Party lawmaker, Irene Mihalic, told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) was "more than questionable."
"As firearms are dangerous to life in the wrong hands, all applicants should be required to provide such reports, regardless of age. Appropriate aptitude tests should also actually have to be repeated at regular intervals," she added.
Sebastian Hartmann, the interior spokesperson for the Social Democrats (SPD) in parliament, told the RND that any reform of gun-control legislation must strengthen the authority to confiscate weapons as well as improve the exchange of data about owners.
Other politicians were keen to avoid a knee-jerk reaction, saying that current legislation is already strong enough.
"Mentally ill persons are not allowed to possess firearms. It is good and right that the weapons law already unambiguously regulates this today," Konstantin Kuhle, deputy chair of the business-friendly FDP parliamentary group, told the German news agency DPA. Therefore, "hasty demands for legislative consequences" are "not necessary," he added.
In a separate interview with the Funke media group, Kuhle questioned why police refrained from revoking the weapons permit from the Hamburg shooter.
Jochen Kopelke, chairman of the GdP police union, said that the "perceived increasing number of [shooting] incidents" in Germany made it imperative to tighten laws speedily rather than conduct a systematic review that could take too long.
"Medical establishments must prioritize and quickly process documents related to weapons controls. Nowhere should there be delays due to staff shortages or long data protection processes," Kopelke added.
Draft law devised after Halle and Hanau shootings
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had already presented a draft of new gun control legislation in January, prompted by recent deadly shooting incidents in Germany.
The perpetrator of the 2020 Hanau shooting was a schizophrenic far-right extremist who was found to have legally owned several pistols. Eleven people were killed and five others were wounded in the rampage at a shisha bar, another bar and a kiosk.
The gunman behind the Halle shooting in October 2019 built his own firearms, some with plastic parts from a 3D printer. Two people were killed and two others injured near a synagogue.
The proposed reforms include a ban for private citizens on semi-automatic weapons, similar to military weapons or the AR-15 and its replicas.
The term "semi-automatic" refers to the loading process in which a bullet is fired when the trigger is pulled and the weapon is then automatically reloaded.
Such weapons are regularly used in mass shootings in the United States, while in Germany the number is still limited.
Faeser promises to fill 'gaps' in gun laws
Faeser told ARD's Tagesthemen (Daily Topics) program on Friday night that she wanted to revisit the proposals for possible "gaps."
In the future, when an application is made for a weapon possession card, it should be checked "whether someone is psychologically suitable," she said, adding that better coordination between authorities was necessary.
The proposed reforms would also abolish the age limit for medical or psychological tests, meaning all applicants for gun licenses would be required to undergo them at their own expense.
However, the murder weapon used in Hamburg, a semi-automatic pistol, would not fall under the ban.
The alleged perpetrator was registered as a sports shooter and legally owned the weapon.
mm/fb (AFP, dpa, EPD)
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