SHOCKING

Halle Synagogue Shooter Takes Prison Guards Hostage in Escape Bid

The convicted far-right murderer used a “device” to force the guards to remove him from his cell, authorities said.

A far-right murderer jailed for carrying out an attack on a synagogue in Germany took two prison guards hostage in an escape attempt on Monday night, authorities said. Stephan Balliet, who was sentenced to life in prison for his 2019 attack in the eastern city of Halle, took the hostages at the Berg high-security prison after using a “device” to force the two guards to take him from his cell, state security officials said. They did not describe the device due to an ongoing investigation. In less than an hour, the 30-year-old murderer was subdued by eight other guards. Balliet was injured in the rescue but the hostages were freed unscathed. Three years ago, Balliet tried to force his way into the synagogue on Yom Kippur—the holiest day in Judaism—armed with guns and explosives. When he was unsuccessful, he instead murdered a woman passing by and a man in a nearby kebab store. He previously made an unsuccessful attempt to escape custody while on trial in 2020.