After the shooting that killed eight at a meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hamburg, an employee of the weapons authority was investigated on suspicion of negligent homicide. The man is said to have incorrectly passed on information about the mental state of the later shooter within the authority, the Attorney General said on Thursday. Three members of an examination board working in the shooting club of the later gunman were also being investigated.
According to a press release, the Hamburg public prosecutor is investigating the weapon authority employee on suspicion of negligent homicide in six cases and negligent bodily harm in 14 cases. In particular, according to the allegation, the employee did not refer to an anonymous letter that the weapons authority had already received about Philipp F. at the end of January. Unaware of this, according to the public prosecutor’s office, the responsible department head of the weapons authority only ordered an unannounced storage check for the firearm in Phillipp F.’s possession, instead of obtaining further information and then immediately seizing the weapon and ammunition.
According to previous knowledge, a relative of Philipp F. had initially contacted the sports shooting club in January to say that the 35-year-old was mentally ill and was becoming more and more aggressive. F. had previously taken his marksman test in the club and also ordered the later murder weapon, a semi-automatic pistol.
Members of Philipp F.’s sports shooting club, the “Hanseatic Gun Club”, are being investigated because of the “initial suspicion of false certification”. It is about an exam that F. is said to have failed, but still received a corresponding certificate.
The public prosecutor’s office also announced that a total of ten apartment searches were carried out.
On March 9, after a community meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hamburg-Alsterdorf, Philipp F. killed seven people and finally himself with a semi-automatic pistol. After an anonymous tip a few weeks before the crime, the 35-year-old had been checked by the weapons authority.
Sources: Press release from the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office
Note: This article has been updated
