The shooter behind the 2019 synagogue attack was given a life sentence by a German court Monday after expressing no remorse, France 24 reported.
Stephan Balliet attempted to enter a synagogue on Yom Kippur 2019 with the intention of shooting those inside. The door of the synagogue was reportedly bolted shut, preventing him from carrying out his plan. Instead, he killed a pedestrian, a man at a kebab shop and wounded many others. He filmed the attack and posted it on the internet along with a manifesto declaring his neo-fascist ideology, according to France 24.
During his trial, Balliet reportedly denied the Holocaust, which is a crime in Germany. He also reportedly refused to express remorse for his actions and those targeted, saying that “attacking the synagogue was not a mistake, they are my enemies.”
However, he did apologize for killing the woman, saying that he “didn’t want to kill whites,” the Los Angeles Times reported. (RELATED: Accused White Supremacist Arrested For Trying To Bomb Colorado Synagogue)
Stephan Balliet waits before his trial on July 21, 2020 at the district court in Magdeburg. (Photo by HENDRIK SCHMIDT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He also admitted that he had intended to kill all 51 people inside the synagogue on Oct. 9, 2019, according to the Los Angeles Times. The prosecution reportedly called for a life sentence for Balliet.
“The attack on the synagogue in Halle was one of the most repulsive anti-Semitic acts since World War II,” said prosecutor Kai Lohse, according to France 24.