Germany shooting: Gunman who killed two in synagogue attack posted anti-Semitic manifesto

Live stream: the suspect in a video on the streaming platform Twitch before the shooting
TWITCH/AFP via Getty Images
Allan Hall10 October 2019

A gunman who launched a deadly attack on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur had posted an anti-Semitic “manifesto” a week earlier, it emerged today.

A PDF document surfaced online showing “pictures of the weapons and ammunition he used”, according to an extremism monitoring group.

At least two people were shot dead in the eastern city of Halle yesterday. The suspect, identified in reports as 27-year-old German Stephan Balliet, filmed the assault and posted the video online.

The suspect built his own weapons in a DIY workshop in a failed bid to massacre worshippers in a synagogue.

Germany: Halle Synagogue Shooting - In pictures

1/11

A locked door saved up to 80 people inside, leaving the gunman to kill two random passers-by outside.

The rampage was streamed live for 35 minutes on Twitch, and eventually seen by some 2,200 people, in a chilling reminder of the mosque attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, last March, which was also broadcast online.

In the video, the Halle gunman was seen trying to force open the synagogue door before shooting dead a female passer-by. He then tried unsuccessfully to blast open the gate of a Jewish cemetery with explosives.

The man was later seen shooting at a customer in a kebab shop about 600 metres from the synagogue. Police subsequently captured the suspect after a gun battle in which he was injured.

Rita Katz, director of SITE, which tracks the online activity of extremist groups, said the gunman’s apparent manifesto had surfaced online showing “pictures of the weapons and ammunition he used”. It also referenced his live stream as well as his objective to kill “anti-whites”, including Jews.

“This manifesto document, which appears to have been created a week ago on October 1, gives yet more indication how much planning and preparation the gunman put into the attack,” she said.

Jewish community leader Max Privorotzki, who was in the Halle synagogue with between 70 and 80 people, told Stuttgarter Zeitung of the harrowing minutes as the site came under attack.

“We saw through the camera of our synagogue that a heavily armed perpetrator wearing a steel helmet and rifle was trying to shoot open our door,” he said. “We barricaded our doors from inside and waited for the police.”

Mr Privorotzki added: “The door held, the door stopped a massacre. There can be no doubt that God was protecting us. The whole thing lasted five to 10 minutes. But they were very long minutes.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in