The Daily Telegraph

Gunman was full of hatred for Jehovah’s Witnesses

Hamburg assailant who left six dead quit the religious group 18 months earlier after dispute with members

- By Jörg Luyken in Berlin

AN EMBITTERED former Jehovah’s Witness has been confirmed as the gunman behind the shooting at a Hamburg church on Thursday night that left six people dead and many more injured.

German authoritie­s identified the man who stormed a Kingdom’s Hall belonging to the religious group only as 35-year-old “Phillip F”. They say that he left the congregati­on 18 months previously, after a falling out with other members.

The Daily Telegraph has identified the man as Phillip Fusz, about whom the police had been warned in January, after an anonymous tip-off suggested he held a particular hatred towards Jehovah’s Witnesses and may be mentally unwell. The source suggested Fuzs “could be suffering from a mental illness, without... this being medically diagnosed since Philip F. would not seek medical treatment,” Ralf Meyer, the head of the Hamburg police, said.

“[He] supposedly harbours a particular anger towards religious followers, especially towards Jehovah’s Witnesses and his former employer.”

Police visited Fusz’s home in February but found nothing suspicious and ended up chatting about how his home was furnished. They establishe­d that he kept his gun in a safe, according to regulation­s, and that he showed no other signs of being unstable. He was let off with a verbal warning.

Fusz grew up in a strictly religious household in the Alps before studying business in Munich. On his Linkedin profile he also claims to have studied for a BA in business management at the University of Central Lancashire between 2011 and 2012.

He later penned a book called The Truth about God, Jesus Christ and Satan in which he described his personal “three year journey to hell” and in which he presented an archaic world view in which women should be subservien­t to men.

German authoritie­s have ruled out a terrorist attack or political motive and confirmed that Fusz used a handgun that he had owned legally since December, through his membership in a local shooting club.

Dozens of people were shot at the Kingdom’s Hall belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Of the 50 people at the service only 20 escaped unharmed.

Condolence­s for the victims were being paid last night.

Michael Tsifidaris, a spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, said: “Almost every single member of the congregati­on has been affected in some way by this awful crime.

“Many of them are traumatise­d and are now receiving the best possible therapy and support,” he added.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, and a native of the city, said: “My thoughts are with the victims and their families. And with the security forces who have endured a difficult mission.”

Hamburg authoritie­s have said that only luck and the quick reactions of police prevented a much greater tragedy. A newly-formed Swat team trained to deal with gun attackers just happened to be in the vicinity at the time and was able to reach the scene within minutes.

After they entered the building, the attacker fled upstairs, where he shot himself. Police found him lifeless with a handgun lying on the floor.

Police have described a night of unimaginab­le horror in which the attacker first shot wildly at a car outside the church before unloading magazines through the window of the building. Once inside he continued to shoot down his victims, repeatedly pausing to reload his gun.

Officers found nine used magazines at the scene as well as 20 more in a rucksack. In the initial confusion, police suspected that two gunmen were at work and that one had fled the scene.

Citizens of Hamburg received warnings via an app on their phones to stay indoors while police were deployed to other Jehovah’s Witnesses buildings to make sure that they were secure.

The crime is likely to stoke an ongoing debate around Germany’s gun possession laws. At the beginning of this year the government announced plans to tighten laws around semi-automatic weapons after prosecutor­s uncovered a far-fetched plot by a group of monarchist­s to storm the German parliament.

As unlikely as the plot was to have succeeded, it was supported by former army officers and a gun trader.

The deadliest shooting spree in modern German history was carried out in 2020 by a far-right extremist who killed eleven people at shisha bars on the outskirts of Frankfurt with legally-held handguns.

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 ?? ?? Police, above, secure the building in Hamburg, right, and escort members of the congregati­on to safety, left. Of the 50 people at the service only 20 escaped unharmed. The city gun authority was tipped off in January that Fusz, far right, was mentally unstable and hated the religious group
Police, above, secure the building in Hamburg, right, and escort members of the congregati­on to safety, left. Of the 50 people at the service only 20 escaped unharmed. The city gun authority was tipped off in January that Fusz, far right, was mentally unstable and hated the religious group

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