BERLIN, Oct 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) —A gunman has killed two people in eastern Germany after attempting to enter a synagogue where dozens were observing a Jewish holiday.
The suspect live-streamed the attack on an online video-game platform before being arrested.
The video, which has now been removed, showed him making anti-Semitic comments to camera before driving to a synagogue in Halle and shooting into its door.
After failing to get in, the gunman shot dead two people nearby.
The suspect is a 27-year-old German who acted alone, according to local media.
“According to the federal prosecutor there are sufficient indications for a possible right-wing extremist motive,” German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said.
Videos from the scene appear to show the suspect wearing military-type clothing and using several weapons in the attack.
The attack happened in the city of Halle at about 12 local time on Wednesday.
Max Privorotzki, leader of the local Jewish community, said the attempted attack on the synagogue was captured on a surveillance camera.
“We saw via the camera system at our synagogue that a heavily armed perpetrator with a steel helmet and a gun tried to shoot open our doors,” he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper.
Privorotzki said about 70 or 80 people were inside at the time.
After apparently becoming frustrated at failing to get in, the suspect then allegedly shot into the street and killed a woman close to the synagogue, before killing a man in a local kebab shop.
Two people with gun wounds have had surgery at the city’s university hospital, a spokesman said.
Police say the man was arrested after fleeing the scene. He has not been officially named but local media suggest he is a 27-year-old German.
The attack came as Jews observed Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Security was boosted at other German synagogues following news of the attack and vigils were held on Wednesday evening.
A spokesman said Angela Merkel condemned the shooting and offered her solidarity “for all Jews on the holy day of Yom Kippur”.
A minute’s silence was earlier held for the victims in the European Parliament in Brussels.
The EU’s President, Jean Claude Juncker, has also condemned the attack. — NNN-AGENCIES
