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Germany: Gun official charged over Hamburg church shooting

April 27, 2023

An employee at Hamburg's weapons authorities faces charges of negligent homicide tied to the fatal shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall. He's accused of failing to pass on details about the shooter's mental state.

https://p.dw.com/p/4Qcbl
Side view of a building where a shooting the night before left at least eight people dead and eight more wounded in Alsterdorf district on March 10, 2023 in Hamburg
The shooting took place in a meeting hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious groupImage: Gregor Fischer/Getty Images

German prosecutors said on Thursday that an employee of the weapons authority was charged with negligent homicide in relation to the deadly shooting in a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in Hamburg. 

Investigators accuse the official of failing to report or of suppressing information about the shooter and his mental health.

The shooter, identified as Philipp F., went on a shooting spree and killed eight people, including himself, in March. The 35-year-old German citizen was a former member of the congregation.

What did prosecutors say?

The gun authority employee is believed to have received information about the shooter through a member of a gun club to which the latter belonged.

The employee then allegedly advised the club member of sending an anonymous letter to the firearms authority and failed to report such information to his superiors, according to prosecutors.

Three members of the gun club are also being investigated, prosecutors said. Investigators accuse them of having blindly accepted the shooter's claim of having passed an April 2022 practical expertise test to secure his license which he in fact had failed. 

Officials on Thursday searched the gun authority employee's office, the premises of the gun club and the residences of the three members. 

Shooting sparked debate on gun laws

The perpetrator in the Hamburg shooting was registered as a sports shooter and legally owned the murder weapon, a semi-automatic pistol. 

The attack triggered a debate among German politicians about existing gun laws. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who had already presented a draft of new gun control legislation in January, vowed to fill the "gaps" in gun legislation. 

Faeser called for better coordination between authorities, and for psychological checks for all those who apply to get weapon possession cards.

fb/msh (AFP, dpa)