Hamburg gunman classified as a "religious fanatic".

After the deadly killing spree in a Hamburg church of Jehovah's Witnesses, according to a media report, an expert classified the 35-year-old alleged perpetrator Philipp F. as a "religious fanatic" on the basis of a book he had published himself. The most plausible motive for the crime was "hatred of Christian religious communities," according to "Spiegel" in the analysis by extremism researcher Peter Neumann for the Hamburg police.

However, the book, which was published about two and a half months before the crime, contains no references to planned attacks, nor calls for violence, Neumann told the “Spiegel”. It is therefore not a "manifesto", as perpetrators have already left behind in similar cases. Without knowing what happened later, it was even impossible to conclude that an attack on Jehovah's Witnesses was imminent. The religious community does not appear in F.'s book at all.

F. had shot seven people and then himself during a service in a Hamburg community of Jehovah's Witnesses about a week and a half ago. According to the investigative authorities, he himself belonged to the community until about a year and a half ago, but left it under circumstances that have not been finally clarified. Nine people were injured in the act, but none of them are in mortal danger. Last Sunday there was a funeral service for the victims in Hamburg's main church of Sankt Petri, which was attended by many of the rescue workers, some of whom were traumatized.

In December, F. self-published a 300-page book entitled "The Truth About God, Jesus Christ and Satan", in which, according to media reports, he spread apocalyptic views and quasi-religious confused theses. The Hamburg authorities are also under pressure because of this book.

F. was a marksman and legally owned the murder weapon. A few weeks before the crime, the weapons authority had received an anonymous tip about F., which was largely based on concerns about the book. According to the authorities, an Internet search by officials based solely on a Google search did not lead to the book being sold via a sales platform, and no major violations were found during a weapons law reliability check in F.'s apartment. It is also unclear whether knowledge of the contents of the book would have led to the withdrawal of the gun license.

According to Neumann, examination of the book makes it clear that F. felt anger at Christian religious communities because, in his opinion, they withheld “the truth” from believers. On the other hand, it was not possible to draw any conclusions about right-wing extremist sentiments or misogynist motives, wrote the London-teaching expert on terrorism and extremism, according to "Spiegel" in his eleven-page report for the police in the Hanseatic city.

The investigators classify the crime of March 9 as a rampage, although the motive, according to them, has not yet been finally clarified. According to their own statements, they consider a crime of "hate" against Jehovah's Witnesses to be possible, but are also investigating in other directions. It is also unclear whether F. could have been mentally ill. There was corresponding information in the anonymous tip, but there was no official medical diagnosis.