Top German officials are visiting the scene of an attack on a synagogue in the city of Halle, seeking to reassure an unsettled Jewish community.

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

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

The attacker – reportedly a 27-year-old German firing what appeared to be home-made weapons – tried and failed to force his way into the synagogue as around 80 people were inside.

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Bullet holes were left in the entrance door to the synagogue (Jens Meyer/AP)

He then shot and killed a woman in the street outside and a man at a nearby kebab shop.

The attack, with the gunman ranting about Jews, was live-streamed on a popular gaming site.

Max Privorozki, the head of the city’s Jewish community, 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. “I thought this door wouldn’t hold.

“That was a shock for us, that 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.

“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 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.

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People place flowers outside the synagogue targeted in the attack (Jens Meyer/AP)

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 added: “The main message is we can’t give up. We won’t give up on Jewish existence in Germany.”

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, interior minister Horst Seehofer, Mr Schuster and regional officials are visiting the scene on Thursday.

Ahead of the visit, Mr Schuster was sharply critical of the lack of a police presence outside.

He said: “I am convinced that if there had been police protection there, in all probability the assailant would not have been able to attack a second site.”

Christoph Bernstiel, a local councillor who also represents Halle in the national parliament, said there will be a careful examination of how long the response took, “but at this point it would be too early to draw premature conclusions”.

Police union head Oliver Malchow said the response time showed “how thin police coverage is”, and added that the wait “was especially long for the people who were in the synagogue”.

Synagogues are often protected by police in Germany and have been for many years amid concerns over far-right and Islamic extremism. There has been rising concern lately about both anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism.

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Those inside the synagogue were escorted away from the building by bus following the attack (Jens Meyer/AP)

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has said that the number of anti-Semitic acts of violence rose to 48 last year from 21 the previous year. It also said the number of far-right extremists rose by 100 to 24,100 people last year, with more than half of them considered potentially violent.

Video of the Halle attack streamed on Twitch, which apparently was filmed with a head-mounted camera, showed the attacker driving up to the synagogue in a car packed with ammunition and what appeared to be home-made explosives.

He tried two doors and placed a device at the bottom of a gate, then fired at a woman trying to walk past his parked car.

The assailant then fired rounds into the synagogue’s door, which did not open.

He drove a short distance to park opposite the kebab shop. He fired at what appeared to be an employee, while customers scrambled away.

One person has been arrested.