Police are said to have overlooked the alleged gunman's book with anti-Semitic statements

According to information from "Zeit online", the weapons authority at the Hamburg police overlooked a suspicious book by Philipp F. when they checked the alleged later gunman at Jehovah's Witnesses. During a review, the officials stated that they had not read the almost 300-page work entitled "The Truth about God, Jesus Christ and Satan", reported "Zeit online" on Tuesday.

The book was published at the end of December 2022 and contained numerous anti-Semitic statements. The author, who is said to have killed seven people in a Hamburg church last Thursday and then shot himself, also declares mass murder on behalf of God to be legitimate and Adolf Hitler to be a tool of Christ.

In January 2023, the Hamburg police received an anonymous letter stating that the 35-year-old was mentally ill and had aggression against religious groups and his former employer. Until a year and a half ago, the man was a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the police, the exact reasons for his departure from the religious community are still unclear.

Based on the letter, the weapons authority at the Hamburg police checked Philipp F. The officials had searched the Internet for further evidence of mental health problems, reports "Zeit online". However, they apparently did not find the book, which was already available on Amazon at the time.

After an initial investigation, however, the Hamburg police took the view that this would not have provided any further leverage to immediately deprive the 35-year-old of his semi-automatic pistol. The current German weapons law requires "facts" that clearly indicate that the character or health is no longer suitable. According to the police, the statements in the book and the anonymous letter were not sufficient.