It is now being examined whether the suspect is also responsible for the shots fired at the Old Synagogue in Essen.
After the shots were fired at the Old Synagogue in Essen, investigators are investigating possible connections to a suspect who was arrested on the night of the crime in connection with two other crime scenes.
The 35-year-old man is suspected of having planned or committed arson attacks on synagogues in Dortmund and Bochum, as the Düsseldorf public prosecutor announced on Friday.
(Photo: Justin Brosch/dpa)
Investigations it is currently being checked whether the accused who was arrested on the night of November 18 is also connected to the shots fired at the Old Synagogue in Essen. Because of the ongoing investigation, no further information would be given at first.
The accused, who is now in custody, is a man who has both German and Iranian citizenship. In mid-November he is said to have tried to get a witness to act as an accomplice in an arson attack on the synagogue in Dortmund. The witness refused and revealed himself to the police, it said. The act was not carried out.
In addition, the 35-year-old is suspected of having thrown a Molotov cocktail at the Hildegardis school in Bochum late in the evening of November 17. At the school, which is directly adjacent to the Bochum synagogue, a window frame was damaged by soot and the insulation of the building was damaged by fire.
The North Rhine-Westphalia Central Office for the Prosecution of Terrorism is now examining a possible connection with the shots in Essen . In the incident at the Old Synagogue, a previously unknown perpetrator also fired at least four shots at the rabbi’s house on the evening of November 17.
