Gunman in Halle synagogue shooting admits antisemitic motive

Stephan Balliet, 27, who said Jews were 'the root' of 'problems' such as feminism and 'mass immigration', accepted committing the atrocity

The German man suspected of killing two people near a synagogue on Yom Kippur has confessed to the attack and said that he had antisemitic and far-right motives, the German federal prosecutor’s officer said.

Stephan Balliet, 27, made a “very comprehensive” confession during an hours-long interrogation, according to a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe, who spoke to reporters on Friday. “He confirmed far-right and antisemitic motives” for the attack, the spokesman also said, the AFP news agency reported.

Despite the guilty plea, Balliet still will stand trial for the attack last week, on a synagogue in the city of Halle, in central Germany. He tried to enter the synagogue with explosives but was stymied by its locked doors. He then turned his gunfire on a woman outside and a man in a nearby kebab shop, killing both.

It is not clear how his confession will affect sentencing in his case, which is being treated as a terrorist attack.