Karlsruhe Germany - The man accused of
killing two in a gun attack near a synagogue in the eastern
German city of Halle has admitted to the crime and to having a
far-right, anti-Semitic motivation, prosecutors said on Friday.
Stephan B., who published an openly racist and anti-Semitic
manifesto and live-streamed the shooting on Wednesday, gave a
detailed account of the incident to a judge at Germany's federal
court of justice, public broadcaster ARD and other media said.
Investigators earlier seized evidence from the Halle flat he
shared with his mother, including the 3D printer with which he
is believed to have made the home-made guns he used in his
failed attempt to storm the synagogue, magazine Der Spiegel
reported.
In an 11-page manifesto, packed with references to the
gaming and online messageboard communities he seemingly
frequented, the 27-year-old outlined plans to kill dozens of
Jews praying inside.
People place down flowers in front of a synagogue in Halle, Germany, where a heavily armed assailant ranting about Jews tried to force his way in on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, then shot two people to death nearby. Picture: Jens Meyer/AP
In an interview with Der Spiegel, Stephan B.'s mother said
the alleged attacker had experimented with drugs in his early
20s and barely survived the experience, from which he had
emerged a different person.
His full name cannot be published under German privacy laws.