Jews around the world celebrate Yom Kippur today, the highest Jewish holiday. Accordingly, the synagogues are well attended. Also in Halle an der Saale numerous people had gathered when an armed man or several armed attacked.
Shots were heard in the synagogue, community spokesman Max Privorozki told SPIEGEL. The service had then been canceled. Using a camera attached to the entrance to the synagogue, Privorozki was able to observe how a person attempted to enter the locked synagogue.
Sebastian Willnow / dpa central image / dpa
"The perpetrator shot several times at the door and also threw several Molotov cocktails, guns or grenades to penetrate, but the door remained closed, God protected us, maybe five to ten minutes," says the ward chairman. According to Privorozki, in the synagogue, more than two hours after the attack, there were about 70 to 80 people.
According to the police, two people were killed in the shots in Halle, a man in a snack bar, a woman in Humboldtstraße near the cemetery and the synagogue.
A suspect was arrested, the search for possible other perpetrators runs. The people in Halle are called to stay in their apartments. The Attorney General has taken over the investigation. You can read all current developments in the news blog.
