German police arrest synagogue arsonist after TV broadcast of the attack

Traces of fire can be seen on a synagogue entrance door damaged by an incendiary device in Oldenburg, Germany, April 5, 2024. (Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa via AP)
Traces of fire can be seen on a synagogue entrance door damaged by an incendiary device in Oldenburg, Germany, April 5, 2024. (Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa via AP)

German police have arrested a 27-year-old suspect accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in Oldenburg nine months ago, according to the country’s Bild news outlet.

After investigators had been unsuccessful in identifying the perpetrator of the April 2024 attack, a video of the incident was broadcast last Wednesday on “Aktenzeichen XY… Ungelöst,” a popular unsolved crime crime series on the ZDF network.

Police received several tipoffs following the program, including one that led them to the suspect in Germany’s Vechta district, where he was arrested at midday and confessed to the crime.

No one was hurt when the incendiary device was thrown at the door of a synagogue in April, and the fire was extinguished without the help of the fire department. Two days after the attack made national headlines in April, hundreds came out to demonstrate against antisemitism in front of the synagogue, Bild notes.

The informant will receive a reward of 5,000 euros, the report says.

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