A former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses murdered and then killed himself six members of his former community in the German city of Hamburg, authorities said Friday.

The attack took place on Thursday evening during a religious activity organized by this community.

The attacker was identified as a 35-year-old man named Philipp F., who left the community about 18 months ago, “apparently not on good terms,” ​​a senior police officer told reporters.

The fatalities were four men and two women aged 33 and 60.

Eight people were also injured, including a seven-month pregnant woman who lost the child she was expecting, who was counted among the fatalities on their balance sheet by German police.

The attacker committed suicide shortly after officers stormed the building.

“He fled to the first floor” of the building where community members gathered for prayers, “and committed suicide,” Hamburg city-state interior minister Andy Grote told reporters.

The rapid arrival of the security forces, who interrupted the massacre, prevented a higher death toll, according to the authorities.

The motives for the attack are unknown, although the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office said it did not see a “terrorist” motive behind the massacre. The attacker could be suffering from psychiatric disorders.

The man, who had no criminal record, “was furious with members of religious congregations, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses and his former employer,” police explained.

Police received an “anonymous letter” in January saying that Philipp F. suffered from a “psychiatric illness”, which was not confirmed by any doctor because he “refused to see a specialist”.

The attacker entered the building, located on a major avenue in this northern German city. According to the Der Spiegel publication, about fifty people were inside, gathered for a prayer session.

According to the website of this organization in Germany, there are 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country, of which 3,800 are in Hamburg.

The institution was founded in the United States in the 19th century. Its members consider themselves heirs to primitive Christianity.

The head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, denounced a “brutal act of violence”. The Jehovah’s Witness community said it was “deeply saddened by the horrific carnage”.