The police said two people had been killed and others injured in a vehicle ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester, in northwestern England. The attack happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Two people were killed after a man drove a vehicle into people and then attacked with a knife outside a synagogue in Manchester, England, on Thursday morning. The attacker was shot dead by the police.
The attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, while people gathered for services inside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue. The British government increased security at hubs of Jewish life nationwide after the attack.
Here’s what we know:
What happened and where?
Greater Manchester Police said they received a call at 9:31 a.m. on Thursday morning reporting that a car had been driven toward members of the public, and that several people had been stabbed.
The chief constable, Stephen Watson, said officers with the Greater Manchester Police fatally shot the attacker within seven minutes of the initial call.
He said the attacker was wearing a vest that appeared to contain an explosive device. The police later said that the device had not been viable.
They said the attacker had been prevented from entering the synagogue because of the quick response by a witness who called the police.
Two members of the Jewish community were killed in the attack, the police said. Four others were injured.
One victim in serious condition was stabbed and another was hit by the car involved in the attack, the police said. Another “later presented himself at hospital with an injury that may have been sustained as officers stopped the attacker,” the police said. Police did not describe the injuries of the fourth victim.
The attack occurred outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in northern Manchester, around the time that Yom Kippur services were scheduled. The police said a large number of people were inside the synagogue during the attack, but that they had been safely evacuated.
Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue Suspect shot by police outside synagogue U.K. Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue Suspect shot by police outside synagogue U.K.
What do we know about the suspect?
The attacker, who was shot by armed officers, was killed. The police identified him as Jihad al-Shamie, 35, a British citizen of Syrian descent.
Mr. al-Shamie had not been previously flagged as a threat to Prevent, Britain’s counterterrorism operation, the police said, and investigators were still seeking to identify a motive in the attack.
Three suspects were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, the police said. The offense covers the plotting of terrorism attacks in Britain. The police did not name the suspects but identified them as two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s.
Two homes linked to the attacker and suspects were being searched, the police said, one in Crumpsall, a short distance from the synagogue, and one in the town of Prestwich, around two miles away.
Footage taken by a witness and verified by The New York Times earlier on Thursday showed two armed police officers with their rifles aimed at the suspected attacker, who was on the ground outside the synagogue, as an injured person lay nearby.
In the video, which was posted to Facebook, one of the officers told people at the synagogue gates to move back, shouting: “He has a bomb. Go away.”
Moments later, the person on the ground appeared to be trying to get up, and the police fired at least one shot. The man fell back to the ground.
Was it a terrorist attack?
The attack was an act of terrorism, said Laurence Taylor, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing in the United Kingdom.
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that they had declared “Plato” shortly after being called to the scene, referring to Operation Plato, a set of protocols for armed police officers and emergency services when responding to major incidents, including “marauding terrorist attacks.” Later in the day, the police said the protocols were being stood down.
To declare that an attack was terrorism, Britain’s Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing looks at the information immediately available after an attack to decide whether it meets Britain’s legal definition of terrorism, which covers violence “for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.”
The process can involve analyzing evidence including witness accounts, suspects’ electronic devices and information about their personal background to determine whether they had an ideological motivation or if the attack was driven by other factors.
Christine Hauser contributed reporting.
[SRC] https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/02/world/manchester-synagogue-stabbing-uk
