Halle Assassin
Investigators comment after the hostage-taking in JVA Burg: Stephan B. wanted to force release
Magdeburg: Stephan B. sits in the regional court. On October 9, 2019, on the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, the assassin tried to cause a bloodbath in the synagogue in Halle.
© Hendrik Schmidt / DPA
After Halle assassin Stephan B. temporarily took two hostages in Magdeburg prison on Monday evening, the police and judiciary describe the background to the incident.
In the high-security prison in Burg near Magdeburg, the right-wing extremist Halle assassin Stephan B. took two staff hostage – and wanted to force his release. The State Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday in Magdeburg that this can be concluded from the statements made during the crime. The 30-year-old was overpowered after less than an hour on Monday evening. The State Ministry of Justice confirmed corresponding information from security circles. Accordingly, around 9:00 p.m., the prisoner temporarily took control of two servants. However, these were not recorded at the same time, but one after the other. “The second hostage was held by Stephan B for a longer period of time,” it said at the press conference of the State Ministry of Justice. He used the lock-in time before the night on Monday evening around 9:00 p.m. and forced an employee with an object that has not yet been specified to take him to the outside area. He then tried to force another employee to open more doors.
Eight officers overwhelm hostage-takers
Finally, he was overpowered by eight prison officers. The perpetrator was injured, but not seriously. According to the information, the employees were not physically injured, but are being cared for. The exact background of the crime is still unclear. This includes how exactly the prisoner was able to capture the servants. The hostage-taking prompted a large-scale police operation. The officers had taken up positions in front of the prison, heavily armed. The State Criminal Police Office is investigating in prison. The Halle assassin Stephan B. was sentenced to life imprisonment and subsequent preventive detention on December 21, 2020. He is serving his sentence in Burg prison. It is the largest and most modern high-security prison in Saxony-Anhalt. Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister of Justice Franziska Weidinger (CDU) emphasized the good interaction between the employees. They acted calmly and prudently. The Halle assassin was closely monitored and checked during his detention.
Stephan B. is considered a difficult prisoner
B. is considered an uncooperative and difficult prisoner. On the Pentecost weekend of 2020, as a defendant in the Halle trial, he tried to escape from Halle JVA. During a yard walk, he climbed a 12-foot fence and spent five minutes unsupervised looking for a way out of prison before court officials caught him again. On October 9, 2019, the right-wing extremist assassin tried to storm the synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday, and to cause a massacre. He threw incendiary and explosive devices and shot at the access door. When he was unable to get onto the premises, he murdered a 40-year-old passer-by in front of the synagogue and a 20-year-old in a nearby kebab shop. He injured other people while fleeing. According to the Ministry of Justice, the prison in Burg, not far from Autobahn 2, has 637 places in closed prisons, and 18 places are also reserved for preventive detention.
Vulnerabilities in Prison?
Meanwhile, the first calls for clarification and the elimination of weaknesses in the prison were heard. “The world is looking at Saxony-Anhalt and the state government has a special responsibility and must act very carefully,” said Eva von Angern, leader of the Left Party. Minister of Justice Franziska Weidinger (CDU) must do everything to ensure that the current incident is processed and weaknesses are remedied. The parliamentary manager of the Greens parliamentary group, Sebastian Striegel, urged a meeting of the legal committee of the state parliament as soon as possible. “We now have to get secure information quickly,” he told the German Press Agency. He was “extremely concerned” that after the assassin attempted to break out of the Halle prison and an attempted attack in the court after the verdict was announced, the prisoner again caused “a serious security incident”.