The police want to check gun owners better after the shooting

As a consequence of the shooting in Hamburg with eight dead, the police in the Hanseatic city want to better check gun owners in the future. A police working group of ten experts, including internal investigators and external experts, has drawn up a five-point plan, as reported by the "Hamburger Abendblatt". Police President Ralf Martin Meyer told the newspaper that the plan is intended to minimize the risk of such acts.

"To this end, we are optimizing and professionalizing the work processes in the weapons authority with support from the competencies of the State Criminal Police Office," said Meyer. In addition, the police want to counter the threat of suspected mentally ill people with a more intensive risk analysis by psychologists.

The chief of police also sees a need for legal action on the weapons law. In Meyer's opinion, in the future all people who apply for a new small gun license will have to prove their psychological suitability at their own expense. And in the case of anonymous tips, a psychological aptitude test should already be ordered if there are "actual clues". So far, authorities have first had to prove that someone is not suitable.

Two weeks ago, 35-year-old Philipp F. killed seven people at a community meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses in Hamburg - including an unborn child. He then killed himself. Nine other people were injured in the shooting.

There had previously been an anonymous tip about the perpetrator. Officials from the weapons authority had found no abnormalities in the sports shooter. As a result of the crime, there was a lot of criticism of the review of gun owners in general and the gunman in particular.

The CDU domestic politician Marc Henrichmann, on the other hand, sees no reason to tighten gun laws. Rather, it highlights the failures of the local authorities in dealing with the later shooter, for whose lack of reliability there were several indications, said the member of the Bundestag. "It is irresponsible that the Hamburg authorities did not revoke the gun permit from the perpetrator," said Henrichmann. "Our gun laws offer every opportunity to confiscate the weapons immediately in the event of mental health problems - until the facts have been clarified."

Next Saturday, the Jehovah's Witnesses want to hold their own funeral service in the sports hall in Hamburg, which is not far from the community center of Jehovah's Witnesses. There was a similar event in the Christian churches last Sunday, but the Jehovah's Witnesses did not attend.