According to NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), the actions of a suspected arsonist could be related to the shots at the former rabbi's house at the old synagogue in Essen on the same night. "We pulled a suspected perpetrator out of circulation. We don't yet know whether there is a group behind it," said the politician at a special session of the Interior Committee of the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament in Düsseldorf. "There may be a connection between what happened that night"

35-year-old arrested

As the Attorney General Düsseldorf announced on Friday, the arrested suspect is a 35-year-old man who is said to have committed an arson attack on the Hildegardis School in Bochum late in the evening of November 17th. In addition, the man is said to have tried in mid-November to win a witness as an accomplice for an arson attack on the synagogue in Dortmund. The witness refused and revealed himself to the police. The planned crime was not carried out.

According to the Attorney General, the 35-year-old was arrested on the night of November 18 and has been in custody since November 19 on the basis of an arrest warrant from the Dortmund District Court.

Molotov cocktail at school in Bochum

The accused, who according to the public prosecutor has German and Iranian citizenship, is said to have thrown a Molotov cocktail at the Hildegardis School in Bochum. It said there was soot damage to a window frame and fire damage to the styrofoam insulation of the building. The grounds of the Hildegardis-Gymnasium are in the immediate vicinity of the Bochum synagogue and the planetarium as well as the city park.

Interior Minister Reul did not give any details about the arrest and the suspect in the interior committee. Only that the investigators see a "chronological connection" between the three incidents in the Ruhr area. "All in all, we are currently investigating issues related to Jewish objects at three different locations in the Ruhr area," said Reul, who wanted to give the MPs more details in a non-public part of the meeting. There are still many pieces of the puzzle that investigators need to put together.

Protection of the Constitution involved in investigations

According to the Minister of the Interior, in addition to the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the police authorities in Essen and Dortmund are also involved in the investigation. In Essen and Dortmund, two "special development organizations" (BAO) with more than 100 officials have been set up. The investigations would be carried out with high pressure and the "very large cutlery", assured Reul. The Attorney General (GBA) is also always "kept up to date". The measures to protect all Jewish institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia have been ramped up, said Reul.

Reul confirmed that the number of cases of anti-Semitic crimes recorded in NRW had stagnated for years. Since 2017, the annual number of these crimes has always been between 280 and 350. However, Reul also pointed out a large number of unreported cases that are currently being investigated in a scientific study. "Anti-Semitism continues to pose a major threat in our country," said Reul.

In the night of November 18, at least three shots were fired at the former rabbi's house at the old synagogue in the city center of Essen. Four bullet holes on a door were discovered in the morning. The Old Synagogue belongs to the city and is no longer used by the Jewish community for services.