Two killed and suspect shot dead on Yom Kippur

Two people have been killed – and a man has been shot dead by police – in an attack at a Manchester synagogue on the holy day of Yom Kippur.

Police said a car was driven at the public, with the driver then attacking people with a knife outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall.

The attacker, who was wearing what looked like a bomb vest or belt, was stopped from getting in the synagogue by security staff and members of the congregation.

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He was shot dead seven minutes after the first emergency call. Police said they believe they know his identity but won’t release the name yet.

Four people remain in hospital with serious injuries.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the national head of counter-terror policing, said it was being treated as a terror incident and two people had been arrested.

Police patrols are being stepped up near synagogues and Jewish sites around the country, he added.

A bomb disposal unit was sent to the scene and photos of the suspect show a knife near his body and what looks like some kind of white belt.

The first calls were received at 9.31am – and just minutes later “Plato” was declared, the code-word used by police and emergency services for a “marauding terror attack”.

Video shows police pointing guns at the attacker in front of the synagogue and shouting at onlookers to “get back” and “move on”.

The attacker starts to get up before a gunshot is heard and he falls to the ground.

Another person is seen lying motionless outside the synagogue gates with blood near their head.

Police said paramedics arrived at 9.41am and treated people for “injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds”.

Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson, head of the Greater Manchester force, said there were “a large number” of people at the synagogue “but thanks to the immediate bravery of security staff and the worshippers inside, as well as the fast response of the police, the attacker was prevented from gaining access”.

Nearby streets were closed as police with machine guns swarmed the scene.

A bomb disposal robot was also called in and a bang was heard as officers got into the suspect’s vehicle. Later, an SAS “Blue Thunder” helicopter was seen flying overhead.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack and returned home early from a meeting of European leaders in Denmark to chair an emergency Cobra meeting.

He said “additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country”.

King ‘shocked and saddened’

Members of the Royal Family have also reacted to the attack.

In a statement, the King said: “My wife and I have been deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially 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 Prince and Princess of Wales said on social media: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the families of the terrible attack at Heaton Park Synagogue.

“The fact that this tragedy occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more shocking.

“We are thinking of the entire community as well as the emergency responders who attended this terrible incident.”

A Jewish man outside the synagogue said: “It is the holiest day of the year and we get this. There is no place for Jews in Britain any more. It’s over.”

The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said it was an “appalling attack”.

Dave Rich, of the CST, 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.

“There’s always a significant security operation in place between police and CST across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals.”

In terms of importance in the religious year, he said it is similar to Christmas Day for Christians, but is a day of solemnity and fasting rather than celebration.

A regular worshipper at the synagogue told Sky News the attack on Yom Kippur was a “culmination of something the Jewish community has been fearing for two years”.

Raphi Bloom, a director at a Jewish social care charity in Greater Manchester, said he was walking to the synagogue when he received a call from a friend warning him not to go due to a “terrorist incident”.

He told Sky’s Jayne Secker there has been inaction to tackle “the wave of hatred targeting the Jewish community in the UK” since the Gaza War began two years ago.

“We’ve been faced with a tsunami of Jew hatred since,” he said.

“Ultimately, almost every Jew in this country realised that this day would come. I never thought it would happen at my synagogue, to my friends, to my rabbi, in my city.”

He called on every Jewish organisation in the UK to have “large fences around it” and 24-hour security.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “horrified” by the attack.

“My first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services,” she wrote, adding that she was being constantly updated by Greater Manchester Police.

Sky News’ North of England correspondent Katie Barnfield said members of the Jewish community in Crumpsall had told her they were “shocked” and “terrified” by what had happened.

She said one man had described the area as “an extremely tolerant community, where people of many faiths including Jews and Muslims have lived side by side for years”.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham wrote on X: “Today we have witnessed a vile attack on our Jewish community on its holiest day.

“We condemn whoever is responsible and will do everything within our power to keep people safe.

“We stand with GM’s Jewish community at this time and will work through the day to support them.”

The Israeli embassy condemned the incident, describing it as “abhorrent and deeply distressing”.