Hamburg police were tipped off about gunman but did not take his weapon

An anonymous letter was received by the weapons control authority in January raising concerns about a man named by German police as Philipp F, 35, saying that he appeared angry with his former fellow church members, but officers had found no reason for concern when they visited him last month.

The man, identified by local media as Philipp Fusz, a freelance business consultant, went on to shoot dead four men and two women aged 33 to 60, all German nationals, as well as an unborn female baby whose mother survived, during a rampage that started at 9pm on Thursday.

Eight people were injured, four seriously, raising fears that the death toll will increase. Six of those are German citizens, one is from Uganda and the other from Ukraine. It is the first mass shooting in Hamburg.

During a subsequent unannounced visit on 7 February at his apartment in the Altona district of western Hamburg, Fusz was said to be cooperative and convinced officers that there was no cause for concern. He was merely given a verbal warning for not keeping his weapon in his safe.

He fired off 10 bullets into the vehicle but the woman managed to get away at which point the gunman moved towards a window at the northern side of the building. He shot open the window pane and entered the hall where 36 people were gathered. A further 25 members of the church had joined them online.

It was now 9.04pm. A total of 135 rounds were shot by the gunman with his semi-automatic weapon, seemingly in short bursts, punctuated by 20-second breaks.

The emergency services received 47 phone calls seeking help as the gunfire had sounded.

Police were on the scene by 9.08pm but they could not immediately get into the building. A special operations support unit happened to be in the neighbourhood, however, arriving at 9.09pm and gaining access by shooting out the doorknob on the main door of the hall. As they entered, they saw a bloody scene, with bodies strewn around and gunfire still ringing out.

His minimum fee for consultancy was stated to be ¤250 (£221) plus 19% VAT, but he had also found time to self-publish a book in January with the title: The Truth About God, Jesus Christ and Satan.