Assailant in Germany live-streamed shooting near synagogue

A heavily armed assailant with a live-streaming head camera killed two people, injured two others and tried unsuccessfully to invade a synagogue in Halle, Germany, on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

At least 51 congregants were inside for Yom Kippur services. The attacker did not enter the synagogue, but killed two people outside. The police announced an arrest in the case on Wednesday.

The attacker broadcast parts of the attack via Twitch, a live-streaming platform owned by Amazon, where he declared that, “the root of all these problems is the Jew.” Twitch scrambled to remove it and issue an apology.

Twitch’s role: The shooting was viewed 2,200 times on the live-streaming service before it was taken down. The platform was used by a shooter in a gaming tournament last year in Florida, and it was also where people posted footage of an attack last March involving mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Lingering questions: Despite repeated requests for the police to provide security at the synagogue, there was no one outside when the attacker tried to force his way in, according to Max Privorozki, a leader of the Jewish community in Halle. It took 10 minutes for the police to respond, he said.

The police could not confirm whether security was stationed outside the synagogue, as is common in larger German cities.