“I immediately had the fear that it was him”

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Horror in Hamburg: On Thursday evening, 135 shots were fired at a meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Philipp F.* († 35), the alleged perpetrator, shot seven people, wounded at least eight people, some of them seriously, and then allegedly self-condemned.

The shooter is a former member of the Hamburg community of Jehovah’s Witnesses and voluntarily left it a year and a half ago – but apparently not for the better. Even after he left, he was very religious on the Internet, publishing lyrics about his views on God and Satan.

A close relative of F., who had close contact with the perpetrator, gave the “Augsburger Allgemeine” more details about him. “He completely succumbed to religious madness, had visions, felt persecuted,” he says of the time after his departure.

“I immediately had the fear that it was him,” explains the man, who only quoted the newspaper under a pseudonym. He knew that F. was “very broken” mentally. The shooter was repeatedly advised by the relatives mentioned, but also by other relatives, to seek help. “But he didn’t want one.”

“If I had known what was going on behind the scenes…”

The family member, who claims to have dropped out himself, last saw F. last summer. He was “very aggressive”. “It had nothing to do with the person I knew.” A renewed contact in January went unanswered by F. “He would not admit his own delusions and illness.”

F. grew up in Kempten in the Allgäu (D) and trained as a bank clerk at a German private bank. Then he studied business administration. He was confronted with Jehovah’s Witnesses early on, many family members were part of the community.

When F. moved to Hamburg for professional reasons in his early twenties, he came into contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses again years later. “But then he quickly saw how the system of Jehovah’s Witnesses works that had been lied to him. He once said: ‘If I had known what was going on behind the scenes, I would never have joined.'” After a year and a half, he left again – ” and then fell into complete madness”.

Jehovah’s Witnesses announce new details

The spokesman for the Hamburg Jehovah’s Witnesses, Michael Tsifidaris, addressed the press on Saturday. He didn’t say much about F. leaving – just that it was a personal decision. However, such a departure has an impact on personal relationships with parishioners and friends.

Tsifidaris also confirms that there were differences of opinion within the community about the idea and the realization of F.’s book. At the end of 2022, F. published the book entitled “The truth about God, Jesus Christ and Satan”. In any case, Jehovah’s Witnesses write on the internet that this led to F. being kicked out. The Hamburg police are still investigating this.

Police received tips in January

The German was a sniper. However, he was not known as an extremist. Police President Ralf Martin Meyer, 63, said he had been legally in possession of a semi-automatic pistol since December 12. This is the murder weapon.

In January, the weapons authority received an anonymous tip that Philipp F. might be mentally ill. According to the unknown writer, F.’s mental illness may not have been medically diagnosed because F. is not seeking medical treatment. According to the letter, F. was especially angry with religious supporters, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses and his former employer.

The researchers do not rule out possible conflicts within the religious community. Police Chief Meyer said there was evidence of a dispute “possibly from Jehovah’s Witnesses territory.” That needs to be checked now. (chs)

*Name known

Source: Blick