In a shocking replay of New Zealand's Christchurch mosque attack, a gunman live streamed a 35-minute rampage at a synagogue in Germany's Halle town that killed two people. While a woman was killed near the synagogue, a man was killed at a kebab shop nearby.
CNN quoted German security official who said they believe the shootings were motivated by far-right ideology. A suspect, identified as "Stephan B", has been arrested, a spokesman for German federal prosecutor said.
It later emerged that the anti-Semitic attack was livestreamed on online platform Twitch. It was reported that as many as 2,200 people watched the video eventually.
"The account owner streamed this horrific act live on Twitch for 35 minutes, during which time it was viewed by approximately five people," the livestream gaming platform said, according to AFP.
"A recording of the stream, which was automatically generated based on the account's settings, was viewed by approximately 2,200 people in the 30 minutes before the video was flagged and removed from Twitch," the platform further added. The video shows the attacker uttering anti-semitic words and targeting women and Jews, before beginning the shooting.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack and expressed her deep condolences to the family of the victims. "Our solidarity to all Jews on the holy day of Yom Kippur. Our thanks to the security forces who are still on the case," she said, according to a government spokesperson.
The 27-year-old attacker is heard saying in the video the Holocaust "never happened" and that Jews are the fundamental cause of some of the world's problems.
Eyewitnesses said the man was wearing army fatigues and a steel helmet. Another witness said a gray car was seen driving away from the synagogue at high speed, CNN reported.
