MANCHESTER/ISLAMABAD (Time Reference)
At least two people were killed and three badly wounded outside a packed synagogue in Manchester in a car and stabbing attack on Thursday, with the suspect believed to have been shot dead by UK police. The incident, which occurred as the Jewish community marked the holy day of Yom Kippur in the northwestern city, led police to activate a national terrorism-response protocol.
The attack struck just days ahead of the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which ignited a fierce offensive in Gaza and has subsequently inflamed tensions across Britain.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer swiftly condemned the attack as “horrific” and announced that security was being boosted at UK synagogues. He left a European political summit in Denmark early to chair an emergency security meeting in London.
King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”
Incident Details and Police Response
Greater Manchester Police declared a “major incident” shortly after 9:30 am (1:30 pm PKT) after officers were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall neighborhood.
- The force initially reported that paramedics were treating four people for “injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds,” while confirming that firearms officers had shot one man “believed to be the offender.”
- Within hours, police announced that two people had died and the suspected offender shot by officers was “also believed to be deceased.”
- However, police noted that the death of the suspect could not be confirmed due to “suspicious items on his person,” with a bomb disposal unit at the scene. Three people were also confirmed to be in a “serious condition.”
Reactions and Community Concern
Prime Minister Starmer pledged to “do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.” He added, “The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific.”
Israel’s embassy in the UK called it “abhorrent and deeply distressing” that “such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.” The embassy added on X that the “safety and security of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom must be guaranteed.”
The City of Manchester
The city, famous for its Premier League football clubs and industrial heritage, is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK. According to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, the Jewish population in the Greater Manchester area totaled more than 28,000 in 2021.
Local MP Graham Stringer noted that the area is home to both large Jewish and Muslim communities, and that “by and large community relations are excellent between all the different ethnic groups and religious groups.”
The Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish charity that records antisemitic incidents, confirmed it was “working with police and the local Jewish community.” CST stated, “This appears to be an appalling attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year.”
Manchester has a history of deadly terror attacks, most notably in 2017 when Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb outside an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds.
