The Latest: Americans in German synagogue as gunman hit door
BERLIN (AP) — The latest on a shooting in eastern Germany (all times local):
8:25 p.m.
The U.S. ambassador to Germany says 10 Americans were inside the synagogue in the eastern city of Halle that a gunman unsuccessfully tried to enter on Yom Kippur.
Ambassador Richard Grenell tweeted on Wednesday that “all are safe and unharmed.”
A heavily armed assailant shot at the door of the synagogue as 70 to 80 people inside were observing Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Witnesses and German authorities say the gunman then killed two people while firing outside the building and into a nearby kebab shop.
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8:10 P.M.
Livestreaming site Twitch says video of a shooting in eastern Germany that killed two people was broadcast live on its platform.
The company said it “worked with urgency to remove this content.” It added that any account found to be posting or reposting “content of this abhorrent act” would be permanently suspended.
It wasn’t immediately clear who posted the video of Wednesday’s attack on Twitch.
Witnesses and authorities say an assailant in the eastern German city of Halle tried but failed to force his way into a synagogue on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
The gunman then fired shots outside the synagogue and into a kebab shop.
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7:10 p.m.
Germany’s top security official is describing the shooting in the city of Halle as an anti-Semitic attack and saying that prosecutors believe there may be a far-right motive.
In a statement, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer confirmed that a “heavily armed perpetrator” tried to force his way into a synagogue Wednesday in the eastern German city on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Shots also were fired outside the synagogue and at a nearby kebab shop, killing two people. Police said they had arrested one person.
The news magazine Der Spiegel, without citing sources, reported that the suspected assailant is a 27-year-old man from the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where Halle is located. It said investigators also have a video that the assailant apparently filmed with a camera on his helmet.
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6:45 p.m.
Police in the German city of Halle say there is no longer an “acute” danger to the public after the shooting near a synagogue and at a kebab shop that left two people dead.
Residents had been warned to stay in their homes after Wednesday’s shooting. A police tweet several hours later said that people can now go back out into the streets, and that officers are still out in force.
Police said earlier Wednesday that one person had been arrested, though it wasn’t clear whether they believed other assailants were still at large. They didn’t specify why the “acute” danger is now deemed to have passed.
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6:25 p.m.
Czech police say they are beefing up security measures in the country following a shooting in neighboring Germany.
Spokesman Hana Rubasova says officers are focusing on synagogues and other Jewish buildings and objects, Prague’s international airport and the border.
The shooting in the eastern city of Halle left two people dead.
Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek says the Czechs are discussing the situation with German authorities.
German police say the suspects fled in a car, and soon after reported that one person had been arrested.
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3:05 p.m.
German federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation of a shooting in the eastern city of Halle that left two people dead.
Germany’s federal prosecutors handle cases involving suspected terrorism or national security. German news agency dpa reported that the federal prosecutor’s office said it had assumed responsibility for the shooting case.
Police in Halle say one person was arrested but it isn’t clear whether more suspected assailants remain at large.
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2:35 p.m.
A video broadcast by a German television station appears to show a man wearing a helmet and an olive-colored top firing a weapon in the eastern city of Halle.
The clip shown by regional public broadcaster MDR shows the man getting out of a car and firing four shots from behind the vehicle from a long-barreled gun.
It wasn’t clear what he was shooting at.
Police say two people were killed in Halle on Wednesday but many details remain unclear.
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1:55 p.m.
Police say a person has been arrested after a shooting in the eastern German city of Halle that left two people dead.
A tweet from police advised local people to remain vigilant. It didn’t give any details of the person arrested and said police are in the process of “stabilizing the situation.”
Police earlier said that several shots were fired and the suspected assailants then fled in a car. They urged residents to stay in their homes or indoors.
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1:15 p.m.
Police in the eastern German city of Halle say people are believed to have been killed in what local media reported was a shooting.
A police tweet Wednesday gave no information on the nature of their deployment in the city but said that initial information is that “people were killed.” They didn’t give a number. They also urged people to stay at home.
The Bild and Middeldeutsche Zeitung newspapers reported that there was a shooting.