A gunman in Germany confessed to killing two people near a synagogue on Yom Kippur in an anti-Semitic attack.
The man, identified only as Stephan B., appeared in German federal court where he admitted to killing a person outside a synagogue on Judaism’s holiest day and another person at a nearby kebab restaurant.
“Stephan B. has admitted to the accusations and specifically to his anti-Semitic as well as right-wing extremist motives,” said Markus Schmitt, press officer of the prosecutor of the court.
The man livestreamed the shooting on Twitch, an online gaming platform. He had mounted a camera on a helmet he was wearing and planned to enter a synagogue with 51 people inside, although he couldn’t get into the building.
When the gunman arrived, he attempted to push the doors of the synagogue, but they didn’t open. After shooting the lock and sticking an explosive in the door jamb he still couldn’t get in, so after shooting a person outside the synagogue, he drove to a nearby kebab shop and killed one person there.
Prior to the rampage, the gunman spoke into the camera he was using to record the carnage. He identified himself as a Holocaust denier and railed against feminism, immigration, and Jews.
The shooting bears similarities to the March mass shooting at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. That shooter, who killed 49 people, was also a white supremacist and also livestreamed part of the shooting on Facebook Live.
