Police officers gather at the scene of a shooting in the Alsterdorf district of Hamburg, Germany, on Thursday. Photo: Gregor Fischer via Getty Images
A shooting at a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall in Hamburg, Germany, on Thursday left seven victims dead and multiple others injured — some seriously, local police said.
The latest: Hamburg Police said early Friday they found a body they believe to be the suspect inside the church.
The big picture: The shooting in the country's second-largest city occurred at about 9pm local time, German tabloid Bild reported.
- Special forces were deployed alongside local police, Andy Grote, the interior minister for Hamburg, tweeted late Thursday.
What we're watching: Police said they had not immediately identified a motive for the shooting.
Worth noting: Mass shootings are rare in Germany. Between 1998 and 2019, Germany recorded five mass shootings compared to 101 in the U.S, a 2022 study found.
What they're saying: Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher called the reports "shocking" and offered his condolences to those affected by the tragedy.
- "The emergency services are working ... to track down the perpetrator(s)," Tschentscher tweeted.