Saturday, November 4, 2023

Jehovah’s Witness Hall Shooting in Germany Causes Sorrow and Shock

Date:

Germany is in mourning after a mass shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness place of worship in Hamburg left seven people dead and several others critically injured. The perpetrator, Philipp F, was a 35-year-old former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses community who left the group on bad terms 18 months ago. After the shootings, he turned the gun on himself and died. Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher described the news as “shattering” while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was left “speechless” by the incident. The shooting has increased pressure on the government to tighten measures around gun ownership.

Gun ownership in Germany

In Germany, it is legal for people aged 18 or over with no criminal history to obtain a permit to own a gun if they meet certain legal requirements. Official figures show that there are more than 940,000 registered private gun owners in Germany, many of whom are sport shooters or hunters. However, the latest shooting has increased calls for stronger background checks and tighter measures around gun ownership. Authorities had given Philipp F the all-clear last month after they were anonymously tipped off that he was exhibiting disturbing behaviour and carried ill feelings towards the community. After police carried out an unannounced check on his home on February 7, they found no signs of mental illness and allowed him to keep his gun after being satisfied that it was properly stored.

Growing concerns over gun violence

The latest shooting has raised concerns over gun violence in Germany. Nataly Jung-Hwa Han, chairwoman of Korea Verband, a Korea-German intercultural organization based in Berlin, told Al Jazeera that Thursday’s tragedy was not something that you would expect to happen in the country. “The news took me by surprise as we are used to hearing shootings like this happening in the US, not in Germany,” she said. “But the incident shows that there is still an issue around guns being misused in the country and I don’t understand why more isn’t being done to stop the guns falling into the wrong hands. The government must work harder to control gun ownership in the country and to protect innocent lives from being lost by gun violence,” she added. For Daniel Egbe, a chemistry professor and founder of the migrant-focused organisation African Network for Solar Energy in Halle, central-eastern Germany, more restrictions need to be put in place to monitor gun owners. “The psychological stability of a potential gun owner should be tested as we don’t want to get into the situation that we witness happening so often in America,” he said.

The risks facing religious communities

For Osman Oers, a founding member and imam at the House of One, a faith centre currently being built in Berlin that will become a shared religious site between Jewish, Muslim and Christian faith groups, the incident has highlighted the risks facing religious communities. “The rampage in Hamburg has shaken us all very much. The attack illustrates once again that more attention must be paid to the protection and security of religious communities in Europe. Awareness of this must also be raised,” he said.

Incidents of gun violence in Germany

The latest shooting follows a series of incidents involving guns in Germany in recent years. In December, illegal firearms were among the weapons found during raids carried out on members of a far-right group suspected of attempting to overthrow the German government. Two years earlier, in February 2020, a far-right extremist killed 10 non-white Germans and wounded five others in the central city of Hanau, in what is considered one of the worst racially motivated attacks in the country in recent years. The events in Hanau followed the deaths of two people at a synagogue in Halle who were shot by a far-right extremist on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. That same year, politician Walter Luebcke was shot at point-blank range outside his home in central Germany by a man with far-right links who has since been jailed for life.

Sentiments expressed in Germany

Sorrow, solidarity and shock are among the sentiments being expressed in Germany as the country comes to terms with the mass shooting. Outside of Hamburg, people across Germany were shocked and saddened by the news. “My initial assumption was that this was a racially motivated attack, which Germany has unfortunately experienced many times before, so I was deeply shocked when I heard that it was within a religious community,” said Daniel Egbe. Flowers and candles have been placed at the scene where several people were killed in Hamburg.

Conclusion

The mass shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness place of worship in Hamburg has left Germany reeling and has increased pressure on the government to tighten measures around gun ownership. The incident has also highlighted the risks facing religious communities and raised concerns over gun violence in Germany.

Latest stories