Some 80 worshippers barricade themselves inside; killer live-streams anti-Semitic diatribe
After failing to get inside a synagogue where more than 80 people were attending Yom Kippur services in Halle, Germany, a heavily armed gunman shot two people dead, left explosives outside the synagogue and threw a hand-grenade into a nearby Jewish cemetery before being captured by police.
The suspect was identified as Steven Balliet, 27. Dressed in military fatigues and wearing a head-mounted camera and microphone, he live-streamed the attack, along with anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant diatribe.
Jewish community member Max Privorozki told German news magazine Der Spiegel that a camera at the entrance of the synagogue showed a person trying to break into the building.
”The assailant shot several times at the door and also threw several Molotov cocktails or grenades to force his way in,” said Privorozki. ”But the door remained closed—G‑d protected us. The whole thing lasted perhaps five to 10 minutes.” After failing to enter the synagogue as the terrified congregation barricaded themselves inside, witnesses said the gunman shot a woman dead in the street.
The shooter then drove to a kebab shop near the synagogue, where he shot one man dead. He then drove to a Jewish cemetery, where he threw a grenade that left a number of people injured.
The attack brought widespread condemnation from throughout Germany. The European Parliament held a moment of silence at the start of its session on Wednesday to mark the attack. Security measures around synagogues and Jewish cemeteries across the country were increased after the shooting.
Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Berlin and the city’s chief rabbi said that he was informed of the attack by a security official during the Yom Kippur Musaf prayer service.
“We stand alongside the community that has been harmed and weep over those murdered,” said Teichtal. “The cruel method of the attacker is indescribable, and especially the fact that it happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish people.”
The rabbi said that he talked about the attack with synagogue worshipers after the prayer service and emphasized the great miracle the Halle community experienced because their door was locked, thus avoiding a much more serious incident. “This strengthened their spirit, with a prayer for a year of good news.”
