The Jehovah’s Witness mass shooter in Hamburg has been named by the media as Philipp Fuss

The gunman who went on a rampage in a church in Hamburg on Thursday is a 35-year-old self-styled business coach, German media are reporting.

The suspected killer is Philip Fuss, a former member of the Jehovah’s Witness congregation that he attacked in a shocking gun rampage Thursday evening.

Police believe he and five other bodies were found at the scene. Dozens more were injured. On his website, Mr. Fusz describes himself as a business consultant who grew up in a strictly religious family in the German Alps.

On his website, Mr. Fusz describes himself as a business consultant who grew up in a strictly religious family in the German Alps.

He claims to have come to Hamburg as a manager in the energy sector. The reliability of the claims made on his website is questionable.

In one section he suggested a daily fee of €250,000 (£220,600), saying that “the fee includes the fact that my work requires you to have a leverage or value addition of at least €2.5m.”

On the website he also offers for sale a book entitled “The Truth About God, Jesus Christ and Satan”.

According to Bild newspaper, Mr. Fuss was not on a terrorist watch list and had no criminal record.

Among the tragic details of the crime The news that emerged on Friday is that the victim is a pregnant woman. The woman and her unborn child are believed to have died on the spot.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of the victims as well as the injured witnesses. Local community chaplains are doing all they can to support them at this difficult time.”

According to a report by Der Spiegel, the suspect was between 30 and 40 years old and was armed with a handgun.

He reportedly stormed into the building during a church service attended by about 50 worshipers on Thursday evening.

At least seven people have been confirmed dead, including an unborn child and the gunman. The same number were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The story continues

Police said they began receiving emergency calls warning of gunshots in the city’s north Alsterdorf district shortly after 9 p.m.

A SWAT team that was in the area arrived shortly after and kicked in the door, according to local press reports.

Officers were the first to arrive to a scene of chaos with several bodies lying on the floor.

Officers were already inside the building when they reportedly heard a final gunshot.

In an upstairs room they found another lifeless body. It is believed to be the body of the suspected killer, although police are yet to confirm this detail.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded on Friday, saying: “My thoughts are with the victims and their families. And with the security forces who have endured a difficult mission.”

Germany has a community of about 200,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses, one of the largest in Europe.

A large police presence was reported around the building during the night, and SWAT units and counter-terrorism units set up checkpoints and helicopters in the sky.

Hamburg Mayor Peter Chencher said on Twitter: “My deepest condolences to the families of the victims. The emergency services are working at full speed to prosecute the perpetrators and clarify the facts.”

Although attacks on religious centers have increased in recent years, mass shootings in Germany are still rare

In 2019, a heavily armed far-right fanatic attempted to break into a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle during the religious holiday of Yom Kippur.

Unable to break through the locked door, he shot and killed the two men outside.

The deadliest gun rampage to hit the country in recent years occurred in 2020 in Hanau, a small town near Frankfurt, where a right-wing extremist carried out a massacre at two shisha bars, where he shot and killed eleven people.