Two dead in stabbing, car attack near UK synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur; ‘horrific,’ says PM Starmer

Two people died after an assailant reportedly drove a car into pedestrians and a stabbed a security guard near a synagogue in Manchester in northwest England on Thursday, British police said. They said officers had shot the suspect.

The incident, which took place on Yom Kippur, one of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is believed to be over after a man, believed to be the offender, was shot by police.

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 towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.

Police said that minutes later, shots were fired by firearms officers.

“One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.

It said four people were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.

Police said it 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.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Greater Manchester area, told BBC Radio the “immediate danger appears to be over.”

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.

UK PM Starmer reacts

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacted to the incident, posting on X, “I’m appalled by the attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall.”

"The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific," he said.

"My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services and all the first responders," Starmer added.

(With inputs from agencies)