Two people were killed and three others were seriously wounded on Thursday in a synagogue attack in northern England on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.
The suspect is also believed to be dead after being shot by officers, but that couldn’t be immediately confirmed because of concerns he had an explosive on him, Greater Manchester Police said.
A bomb disposal team was at the scene. The incident took place as people gathered at the synagogue on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.
In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 am by a member of the public, who said he had witnessed a car being driven toward members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.
Shots were fired by firearms officers minutes later, police said. “One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.
Police initially said four other people were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds. They later updated the number of victims to five. Police had “declared Plato,” the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.” That does not mean it has been declared a terrorist incident. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the UK He was flying home early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee. “The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.
Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, said Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. “It’s a very solemn day and synagogues across the country will be full throughout the day,” he said. He said there is “always a significant security operation in place” between police and the trust across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals. Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of Maidenhead Synagogue and head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain, said the attack at the Manchester synagogue would raise fears among Jews that political violence could turn to religious hatred. “This is every Rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,” he said. “Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering, and the time when the Jewish community, however religious or irreligious, gathers together,” he added.
Israeli embassy condemns attack
The Israeli embassy said it was in close contact with the Jewish community in Manchester and British authorities to monitor developments. “That such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in a place of prayer and community, is abhorrent and deeply distressing,” it said.
King Charles III deeply shocked
King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened? to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community? “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,’’ the monarch said on his social media feed.Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside and said there had been a “terrorist attack.” A witness told her that she saw a car being driven erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship. “She thought maybe (the driver) had a heart attack,” Lewin said.
