Two people have been killed and several others injured in a "terrorist incident" at a synagogue in Manchester, England.
The attacker was shot dead by firearm officers after he attacked and killed worshippers during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The incident happened outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday morning.
Highlights
- Two people were killed and several were injured in a terrorist incident outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur.
- The attacker, wearing bomb-like devices, was shot dead by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer cut short a trip to chair an emergency meeting and vowed to boost synagogue security.
A terrorist attack killed two people outside a synagogue in Manchester
Image credits: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers “declared Plato,” the national code-word used by emergency services when responding to a terror attack.
Police said they received reports at 9:31 a.m. that a car had been driven into members of the public near the synagogue and that a man had been stabbed.
Within minutes, GMP firearms officers arrived, and paramedics treated some of those injured at the scene.
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“They’ve closed the road, and there’s a police helicopter just over us. There were six or seven police cars with armed police,” an unnamed man told the PA news agency.
Specialist bomb disposal units were called following concerns regarding suspicious objects that were strapped to the attacker's waist.
A video widely shared online showed members of the public warning firearms officers that the suspect appeared to have a bomb strapped to him.
A loud controlled explosion was later heard when the bomb disposal unit was believed to have been in the area.
The attacker, who had bomb-like objects strapped to his waist, was shot by the police
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor told the BBC that it was “devastating” for the incident to happen on Yom Kippur.
“Based on what we know, counter-terrorism police have declared this a terrorist incident,” he said at a press conference.
Taylor also assured the public that counter-terrorism police are deploying all resources possible and that the incident will be investigated to build a full picture in the coming weeks.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer ended a trip to Copenhagen early ahead of the leaders' summit and is chairing an emergency COBRA meeting in Westminster.
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The meeting will be attended by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, and senior police officers.
“The scale and severity of the attack this morning became apparent very quickly, given the speed of the PM’s decision to immediately return from the meeting of the European Political Community in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen,” Political Editor Chris Mason wrote for the BBC.
Starmer said he was “horrified and appalled” by the attack and promised to increase police protection around synagogues across the country.
“We will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe,” he said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "horrified and appalled" by the attack
Image credits: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The Embassy of Israel in the UK condemned the attack. "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," they wrote in an X post.
Imam Qari Asim, co-chair of the British Muslim Network, also condemned the violence. He called the attack “utterly abhorrent” and urged communities to stand together.
“We cannot ignore the growing tide of religious hatred in our country,” he said.
He added: “Whether it is Islamophobia, antisemitism or any form of bigotry, we must confront it together - with unity and courage, not silence.
“The bloodshed and violence in the Middle East – which is excruciatingly painful to witness for all of us – must not be allowed to poison our streets in Britain.”
“We must never let pain abroad be used to justify hatred and violence against anyone at home. British Jews, British Muslims and all communities must be able to live together without violence, intimidation and the fear of being targeted because of their faith,” he continued.
Police believe they know the identity of the attacker, but have not yet released his name for safety reasons.
They have also asked people to be patient, refrain from sharing content online, and to send it to the police instead.
Hospitals in Manchester and nearby towns were placed on lockdown as a precaution earlier in the day.