Josef Schuster, President of Council of Jews on October 10, has blamed the German police negligence to be the reason behind the shootings in east German synagogue, as per UK media. The head further termed the negligence scandalous, as the police were not protecting the synagogue in Halle on the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday which started on October 8. Speaking on the deployment of security in the area on the day, German police union (GdP) said police were too thinly spread for 24-hour protection of places of worship. On Tuesday, a gunman later identified as Stephan B killed two people while attacking an east German synagogue. He is now in custody. Like many other mass shootings spread across Europe and America, the gunman live-streamed it, which was watched by about 2,200 people on the internet gaming platform Twitch. 

The Jewish head said to the media that had there been ample amount of Police stationed outside the synagogue, then the gunman could have been disarmed and the attack could have been stopped. Schuster added in a tweet that it was a miracle that out of 60 Yom Kippur worshippers, none were harmed. 

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Force was thinly posted: German Police

Oliver Malchow, chairman of the GdP, told German media that the attack occurred as the Police were spread thinly in the area. He added that the Police are doing its best to tackle terrorism. But at the same time, they cannot deploy many staff to monitor far-right extremists. It's not that they underestimated it, but they can't foresee everything and prevent it, he advocated.

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European leaders condemn the attack

Many European leaders have condemned the attack on the synagogue. German Chancellor Angela Merkel assured that the Government would use all means available to tackle hatred and bigotry. She spoke at an event in Nuremberg. Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the shooting as a terror attack and warned anti-Semitism was on the rise in Europe.

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About the assailant and the attack

Police have confirmed the shooter to be a German who can be seen making anti-Semitic and misogynistic comments in the live streaming video before entering the synagogue. As he could not enter the synagogue, in his fury, the bewildered man shot two people including a woman in a nearby street and a man inside a kebab shop. Two others were also injured during the shooting and have undergone surgery, reported the authorities. Reports suggest that the gunman also tried to set off explosives at the synagogue. Eyewitnesses in the vicinity and online have reported that the assailant was heavily armed and an online anti-Semitic manifesto attributed to him shows guns, apparently home-made. The attacks survivors reportedly hid behind heavily locked doors of the Synagogue until the Police arrived at the scene.

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