1 of 2 | A member of the Jewish community holds a Torah at a police cordon in Manchester, England, Thursday. Two people have died after a car and stabbing attack at a synagogue in Manchester, with the suspect shot by police. Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA
Oct. 2 (UPI) — Police in Manchester have labeled a deadly attack on a synagogue during Yom Kippur services a terrorist incident. Two people were killed.
The attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue also injured three people who were in serious condition, the Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing, said police know the attacker’s identity. The attacker was shot dead by police, but there have been two other arrests, he said.
Manchester police also have said that the device the man was wearing, believed to be an explosive device, was not viable.
Members of a bomb disposal unit were on the scene to investigate, and police advised the public to stay away from the area. They also held members of the congregation inside the synagogue temporarily while making the area safe and released them later.
A GMP spokesperson said police were in contact with all synagogues in the greater Manchester area “to provide reassurance.”
“We know today’s horrifying attack, on the Jewish community’s holiest day, will have caused significant shock and fear throughout all of our communities,” the spokesperson said.
“We are grateful to the member of the public whose quick response to what they witnessed allowed our swift action, and as a result, the offender was prevented from entering the synagogue.”
The Israeli Embassy in London condemned the attack, calling it “abhorrent and deeply distressing” in a statement on X.
“The safety and security of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom must be guaranteed,” the statement added.
Britain’s King Charles III offered his thoughts and prayers in the wake of the attack and thanked the work of emergency officials.
“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,” he said.
Jewish communities in Britain were on heightened alert Thursday, with London’s Metropolitan Police increasing patrols new Jewish cultural sites, an unnamed source told The Guardian.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said additional police were being deployed to synagogues throughout the country.
“We will do everything we can to keep our Jewish community safe,” he said.
Starmer planned to fly back to Britain early from a summit he was leading in Denmark, the BBC reported.