Some twenty-five kilometers from the town of Jelgava (Mitau), there was an old shooting range of the former Latvian army. There were bunkers at that range. When Einsatzkommando 2 marched into Riga, it was commanded by SS-Sturmführer A. Becu. On July 4, 1941, Einsatzkommando 2, under the leadership of Becu, was transferred to Jelgava and ordered to murder the local Jewish population. On the same day, July 4, 1941, the first six Jews from Jelgava were taken to the old shooting range by the Latvian Auxiliary Police, with the assistance of the Waffen-SS and the logistical help of the Wehrmacht. The Jews were ordered to dig several pits. Four of them measured 60 x 3 meters, and another measured about 85 x 4 meters. After completing their task, these six Jews were shot by the German SD men. Based on the interrogation protocols of the postwar Einsatzgruppen trials in West Germany, the executions were carried out in the course of several weeks in July 1941. The victims were shot at a rate of 300-500 per day. Alfred Becu and his men ordered the Latvian auxiliary policemen to search for hidden Jews, going through their apartments in Jelgava. Usually, the Jews were taken in groups of 80-100. They were escorted to the shooting range, either on foot or in trucks, by the Latvian Auxiliary Police, and occasionally by the Waffen-SS. Upon reaching the execution site, the Jews were forced to enter a bunker next to the pits. Meanwhile the Latvian auxiliary policemen secured the surrounding area and encircled it. Police Sergeant Wilhelm Adelt commanded the German Police and SD, as well as the shooting range itself. Usually, the Jews would be taken out of the bunker in groups of five and forced to kneel or stand, facing a pit. Two German policemen were assigned to killing every Jew. They were equipped with 98k carbines and rifles. One policeman would aim at the victim's heart, while the other would target the back of their head. This was done to ensure that the victim died. Once Wilhelm Adelt had given the order to shoot, the soldiers would fire their guns, and the Jewish victims would fall into the pit. After the shooting was over, the pit was covered with earth by the Latvian policemen. The executions stopped sometime around July 29, 1941. According to the local newspapers, the number of citizens had been reduced by about 4000.

More information: Yad Vashem

On July 3, 1941, several dozen local Jews sought refuge in the Great Synagogue, which stood on the bank of the Driksa River. Then, Latvian forces surrounded the synagogue and ordered the Jews, including the rabbi, to leave the house of worship, threatening to set the synagogue on fire. The Jews refused to leave. The Latvian policemen acted on their threat and set fire to the building. According to eyewitnesses, the policemen used gasoline, grenades, and machine guns to set the Great Synagogue on fire. During the ensuing conflagration, they shot those trying to escape from the building through the doors and the windows. Firefighters were supervising the fire, making sure that it would not spread to other buildings in the neighborhood.

More information: Yad Vashem