Four suspects arrested for German synagogue attack plans

In Hagen, near Dortmund, four people have been arrested who may have wanted to commit an attack on a synagogue in the German city. One of the suspects is a 16-year-old boy with a Syrian background, the background of the other three is not yet known.

The boy is said to have said in chat messages that he had planned a bomb attack on the Jewish house of worship. It is supposed to take place on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s most important holiday since last night.

The police say that three others were also arrested during a search of the teenager’s house this morning. Various media report that the boy lived with his father.

Previous Attack on Yom Kippur

Last night, many officers were at the synagogue after information was received by the police that an attack might be imminent. After a thorough search of the building and the surrounding area and no explosives were found, the danger had passed. However, the Jewish community in Hagen was made impossible to celebrate Yom Kippur.

Two years ago, a right-wing extremist German terrorist tried to cause a massacre on this holiday in a synagogue in the East German Halle. That failed, but he did shoot in the street and in a doner shop two random people dead.

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