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One person arrested after synagogue shooting in German Halle

At least two people died in the shooting

© REUTERS/Marvin Gaul

TASS, October 9. The police of the German city of Halle have arrested one person following the shooting that killed at least two people, the police said via Twitter on Wednesday.

"Our officers have arrested one person," they said.

Two shooters opened fire outside a synagogue in Halle, a police spokesperson told reporters.

The German police also confirmed that apart from a shooting outside a synagogue in Halle shots were fired in Landsberg situated 15 km away from Halle (Saxony-Anhalt).

No additional reports on the Landsberg shooting have emerged yet.

The authorities of nearby Dresden tightened security measured around the local synagogue. "Due to the events unfolding now in Halle, we are increasing security in Dresden’s synagogue and Jewish cemetery," the Bild newspaper quotes police spokesperson Thomas Geithner as saying. The police also urges locals to stay home. The newspaper also reports that an unidentified person threw a grenade at a Jewish cemetery in Halle.

Deutsche Bahn announced that the railway station in the city had been closed down.

The local MDR broadcaster said that the perpetrators were armed with a few guns and dressed in military gear, citing witnesses.

Witnesses also report an explosion at a Jewish cemetery, which was caused by a grenade thrown by an unidentified person, the German Bild newspaper said.

The city authorities announced an emergency in Halle. The region’s police is sending all available forces to the city.

On October 8-9, Jews are celebrating one of the most important religious holidays - Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year in Judaism).

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