Very 'imaginative': Halle assassin used paper and metal objects

How did the Halle assassin get hold of two JVA employees? The head of the high-security prison in Burg is now revealing more details.

Very 'imaginative': Halle assassin used paper and metal objects

How did the Halle assassin get hold of two JVA employees? The head of the high-security prison in Burg is now revealing more details. Accordingly, the 30-year-old threatened the staff with a device made of rolled paper, a pencil and a piece of metal.

When the hostages were taken in the prison in Burg near Magdeburg, the Halle assassin had a self-made object made of rolled paper with him. In the evening, prison director Ulrike Hagemann reported to the legal committee of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament that she had seen a rolled sheet of paper that had been reinforced with a pencil. There was also a piece of metal on it, like a kind of hinge from a cupboard or a toilet seat. Officials from the Interior Ministry and the Attorney General's Office said investigations into the matter were ongoing. It must be clarified whether it is suitable as a weapon or whether it is a dummy weapon or dummy.

The perpetrator held the object "directly in front of the officer's forehead" on Monday evening, whom he first took hostage on Monday evening. The officer knew that he was dealing with one of the most dangerous criminals in Germany, who was also very "imaginative". The young officer rightly took the situation very seriously, said Hagemann. Anything else would have been negligent.

The 30-year-old Stephan B. took two servants into his power on Monday evening and wanted to force his way to freedom. He was overpowered in less than an hour. The head of the maximum security prison described the processes in detail. The officer had been taken by surprise by the Halle assassin during the so-called night lock. After threatening him with the dummy gun, the prisoner said, "We're going out now." The officer complied with this request out of fear for his life.

Additional employees were added when an alarm was triggered. After another officer opened a gate, the prisoner entered a courtyard. The second officer was then taken hostage, said Hagemann. Other colleagues positioned themselves and overpowered the prisoner when he was inattentive for a moment.

The assassin was sentenced to life imprisonment and subsequent preventive detention in December 2020. On October 9, 2019, Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday, he tried to storm the synagogue in Halle and cause a massacre. 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. The perpetrator had already built his own weapons for the attack in Halle. According to Hagemann, the mail from the assassin and hostage-taker was therefore carefully checked. During visits, very close attention was paid to prevent the transfer of prohibited items.