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Two people were killed in a shooting in the eastern German city of Halle on Wednesday and police said they had detained one person. Local media and witnesses reported that a synagogue and a Turkish restaurant were targeted.
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Mass-selling daily Bild said the shooting took place in front of a synagogue, and that a hand grenade was also thrown into a Jewish cemetery. Police could not be reached immediately for confirmation, AFP reports.
Federal prosecutors are taking over the investigation after the shooting, magazine Der Spiegel said on its website, a procedural step that indicates a possible link of the attack to terrorism under German law.
The violence occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism when Jews fast for more than 24 hours, seeking atonement.
Police had earlier said the "perpetrators fled in a car" before saying later that one suspect had been caught. It was not immediately clear whether there were other assailants.
"Our forces have detained one person," local police said on Twitter. "Please nonetheless remain vigilant." Earlier, police tweeted: "According to initial findings, two people were killed in Halle. There were several shots."
Unsere Kräfte haben eine Person festgenommen.
Bleiben Sie trotzdem weiterhin wachsam.
Wir sind mit starken Kräften in und um #Halle präsent und stabilisieren die Lage, bis alle Informationen gesichert vorliegen.#hal0910
— Polizei Halle (Saale) (@Polizei_HAL) October 9, 2019
An eyewitness, Konrad Roesler, told news channel NTV he was in a Turkish restaurant about 600 metres away from the synagogue when "a man wearing a helmet and military uniform" flung a hand grenade at the store. "The grenade hit the door and exploded," he said. "[The attacker] shot at least once in the shop, the man behind me must be dead. I hid in the toilet and locked the door."
Speaking to NTV, a police spokesman said the motive of the suspect or suspects was not clear. "We don't have any indication about the motive of this act."
Gunshots were also heard in Landsberg, about 15 kilometres east of Halle, Focus Online reported.
The main train station in Halle had been closed, national rail operator Deutsche Bahn said.
Wednesday's shootings came three months after the shocking assassination-style murder of local pro-migrant politician Walter LuRead More – Source
