8 killed, 8 injured in Hamburg shooting

Eight people, including the gunman himself, died and eight others were injured in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, reported Xinhua, quoting local police.

According to the police, the 35-year-old gunman took his own life after the police arrived. He was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation with a valid gun permit, and had left the religious community voluntarily a year and a half ago.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was stunned by this violence. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families in these difficult hours. We mourn for those who were so brutally torn from life," he said.

The investigations by the public prosecutor's office and the police are still ongoing, also concerning the perpetrator's motive.