German authorities have revealed details of the Hamburg massacre: the attacker was a former church member and committed suicide

The shooter who killed seven people in a center of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the German city of Hamburg committed suicide after police stormed the building, a local official said on Friday, adding that a pregnant woman was among the victims. They also clarified that one of the deceased was a Ukrainian and another Ugandan.

The attacker fled to the first floor of the building after the police burst in “and committed suicide”, the regional interior minister said, Andy Grandadding that the rapid deployment of the police probably “saved many lives”.

The shooter in Hamburg was a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, authorities confirmed. According to the prosecution, there was no indication of a “terrorist” motivation in the attack.

A seven-month-pregnant woman was among the dead, he added.

Authorities have confirmed that the attacker was a former member of the religious community with which he was in conflict, German police said on Friday.

The shooter has been identified as Philippe F., 25 years oldwho had lived in Hamburg since 2015. He had a gun license as a sports shooter and shot dozens of times inside the center, where about 50 people were, according to the channel NTV.

“Philipp F. was a former member” of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a senior police official told reporters, adding that the attacker left the community about 18 months ago, “apparently not on good terms”.

The authorities are not aware of any type of suspicion against him for possible extremism, nor is there a criminal record, police commanders explained at a press conference during which they attempted to shed some more light on the matter.

The Chief of the Interior in Hamburg, Andy Grand, confirmed that the event left a total of eight dead between the ages of 33 and 60 – including the alleged shooter and the unborn child – and as many injured. Grote warned that he had never before seen an attack of this magnitude in the German city, where part of the security deployment around the scene is still maintained.

He also wanted to take the opportunity to applaud the work of the security forces, since with their “rapid and determined” action they “very probably” succeeded in saving lives, reports the DPA agency.

News in development…