Investigators from the Hamburg police continue to secure clues at the crime scene on Friday morning after the deadly shots at Jehovah's Witnesses. "At the moment the handovers are going on here. It's all in flux," said a police spokesman in Hamburg in the morning.

Several people were killed or injured by gunfire during an event in the community building on Thursday evening. Several media reported on the number of victims, six to eight people were said to have been injured, another eight were injured. The police initially gave no precise information.

The perpetrator may be dead, but according to information from security circles, the police classified his act as a rampage.

The "Spiegel" reported that the suspect is said to be a former member of Jehovah's Witnesses. The magazine also reported that the murder weapon was a pistol. However, the police could not provide any information on Friday morning – neither about the alleged perpetrator nor about the exact course of events. A press conference was planned for midday in Hamburg.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had described the attack in a tweet as a brutal act of violence. "Bad news out

The Jehovah's Witnesses were "deeply concerned". "Our deepest sympathy goes to the families of the victims and the traumatized eyewitnesses. The chaplains of the local community are doing their best to support them in this difficult hour," said a statement on the community's website.

In the early morning, the police secured further tracks in front of, behind and in the three-storey building. During the night, the investigators put up numerous small number boards on the outside of the building to mark traces of the act of violence. A 3D scanner was also used in the morning to document the course of the crime. The entrance to the Jehovah's Witnesses building was covered with a privacy screen in the morning.

A hearse drove up to the scene around 8:00 a.m. Traffic on the busy Deelböge road was reopened around 6 a.m.

Interior Department warning