By Canadian Press

Police detain teenager after threat to German synagogue

Sep 16, 2021 | 3:07 AM

BERLIN (AP) — German security officials said Thursday they had detained a teenager who was allegedly planning to attack a synagogue in the western city of Hagen with explosives, news agency dpa said.

“A teenager was detained,” said Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, the state where Hagen is located. No further details were available on the suspect.

On Wednesday afternoon, police had cordoned off the synagogue in Hagen after receiving tips about a possible attack on the building. The threat came as Jews were preparing for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. Following the threat, a service planned for Wednesday afternoon at the synagogue was canceled, dpa reported.

Hagen police said Wednesday night that they were in close contact with the Jewish community.

“The people are worried,” police said according to dpa.

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Two years ago on Yom Kippur, a German right-wing extremist attacked a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle. The attack on is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in the country’s post-war history.

The attacker repeatedly tried, but failed, to force his way into the synagogue with 52 worshippers inside. He then shot and killed a 40-year-old woman in the street outside and a 20-year-old man at a nearby kebab shop as an “appropriate target” with immigrant roots.

He posted an anti-Semitic screed before carrying out the Oct. 9, 2019, attack in the eastern German city of Halle and broadcast the shooting live on a popular gaming site.

The Associated Press