A police spokeswoman confirmed this WDRthat witnesses reported bullet holes in the adjoining rabbi’s house on Friday morning. Nobody was injured. There is also no danger to the population.
Evidence of male suspects
The area has been cordoned off since Friday morning. Investigations into the background on site are ongoing. An explosives detection dog was used, but no explosives were found, according to the police. The police tweeted about the bullet holes that, according to initial findings, they were four bullet holes from a sharp weapon.
NRWInterior Minister Herbert Reul is now also on site. According to Reul, a man is assumed to be the perpetrator. The minister refers to apparently existing video recordings. But these are of poor quality.
Prime Minister: “Jewish life is a part of our country”
Also Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst has meanwhile per Twitter commented on the incident in Essen: “We stand firmly by the side of the Jews in North Rhine-Westphalia and protect them against hatred and violence.”
The Old Synagogue is now a house for German-Jewish culture and history. There are regular events and there is an exhibition. The cultural monument is one of the largest free-standing synagogue buildings in Europe from the early 20th century.
We will report on this topic on November 18th, 2022 on the radio in the WDR 2 local time Rhein/Ruhr.