A person with a flag of Israel stands next to flowers and candles in front of a synagogue today in Halle, Germany. A heavily armed assailant ranting about Jews tried to force his way into a synagogue in Germany on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, then shot two people to death nearby in an attack Wednesday that was livestreamed on a popular gaming site. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

HALLE, Germany (AP) — Germany’s president urged his nation today to stand up for their Jewish compatriots as he visited the scene of an attack on a synagogue in the city of Halle, seeking to reassure an unsettled Jewish community after members saw a man trying to break into their house of worship on Judaism’s holiest day.

The attack, in which two people were killed outside the synagogue and in a kebab shop, stoked renewed concerns about rising far-right extremism in Germany and questions about the police response.

The head of Germany’s Jewish community, Josef Schuster, called the absence of police guards outside the synagogue on Yom Kippur “scandalous” as members of the congregation described waiting behind locked doors for the police to arrive, which took more than 10 minutes.

The assailant — a German citizen identified by prosecutors as Stephan B., firing what appeared to be home-made weapons — tried but failed to force his way into the synagogue as around 80 people were inside. He then shot and killed a woman in the street outside and a man at a nearby kebab shop. He is now in custody.

Wednesday’s attack in the eastern German city, in which the gunman ranted about Jews and denied the Holocaust in English, was livestreamed on a popular gaming site.

The head of the city’s Jewish community, Max Privorozki, was among those inside who watched the man trying to break in on monitors linked to a surveillance camera.

“We saw everything, also how he shot and how he killed someone,” he said, standing outside the damaged door. “I thought this door wouldn’t hold.”

Privorozki said it took a little while for worshippers to understand what was going on.

“That was a shock for us. It was Yom Kippur, all phones were switched off. We had to understand what was going on first — then switch on my phone and then call the police,” he said. “It was really panic. But I have to say after that, when the police came, we continued with the worship service, that lasted another three hours, the synagogue worship service.”

The worshippers were brought out on buses several hours later. A video posted by a reporter for Israeli public broadcaster Kan showed people on a bus dancing, embracing and singing.

A worshipper who was at the synagogue, identified only as Christina, told Israel’s Kan Reshet Bet radio that “it’s not easy being openly Jewish in Germany,” but “the main message is we can’t give up. We won’t give up on Jewish existence in Germany.”

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with community representatives at the synagogue today.

“It is not enough to condemn such a cowardly attack,” he said.

“It must be clear that the state takes responsibility for the safety of Jewish life in Germany,” he added, saying that society as a whole must show “a clear, determined position of solidarity” with Jews.

“History reminds us, the present demands of us” that Germans must stand by their Jewish compatriots, he said. “Those who so far have been silent must speak out.”