UK on ‘high alert’ following Manchester synagogue attack that killed 2

Britain was on heightened alert Friday following an attack outside a Manchester synagogue that killed two people, as police said they may have shot victims as the terrifying assault unfolded.

Thursday’s attack, which also left three wounded, took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday of the Jewish calendar.(Reuters)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visited the scene of the car ramming and stabbing spree in the northwest English city, said security would be boosted at synagogues nationwide as calls to protect Britain’s Jewish community intensified.

Thursday’s attack, which also left three wounded, took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday of the Jewish calendar. Police said they had shot the attacker dead and declared it a “terrorist incident.”

On Friday Greater Manchester Police (GMP) announced one of the two Jewish men killed may have been shot by officers, while another non-fatal victim “also suffered a gunshot wound”.

Also read: Manchester synagogue attack: 2 men killed in terror attack named

GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson said an interior ministry pathologist had “provisionally determined that one of the deceased victims would appear to have suffered a wound consistent with a gunshot injury”.

Noting the attacker, named as Jihad al-Shamie, was not believed to have had a gun, Watson said the injury “may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence” when officers ended the “vicious attack”.

He added the condition of the hospitalised victim, who “medical professionals” have advised also suffered a gunshot wound, was not life-threatening.

Two others in the hospital remain in a serious condition, police said.

In a televised statement, Starmer — who was accompanied by his Jewish wife Victoria as he visited the scene — vowed to “do everything in my power” to protect the Jewish community.

Also read: UK police declare Manchester synagogue rampage a ‘terrorist attack’

Safety priority

Officers shot dead Shamie — a UK citizen of Syrian origin — within minutes of responding to calls that a car had ploughed into people outside the synagogue and a security guard had been stabbed.

He had worn a vest holding an apparent explosive device, but police later revealed it was not functional.

GMP have since arrested three others — two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s — on suspicion of terrorism-linked offences.

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood confirmed Friday the country was on “high alert”, with increased “police resources” deployed across the country.

“Our priority is making sure that our citizens here at home are safe,” she told Sky News.

It was one of the worst antisemitic attacks in Europe since the October 7, 2023 assault on Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which sparked the Gaza war.

That has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities criticised by some for stoking antisemitism and fear in Jewish communities.

A “global movement for Gaza UK” protest went ahead in London Thursday evening, leading to 40 arrests.

London’s Metropolitan Police requested organisers delay another planned demonstration to back the banned Palestine Action group on Saturday, but have so far been rebuffed.

Mahmood criticised Thursday’s rallies and the weekend plans.

“I was very disappointed to see those protests go ahead last night,” she said, calling them “dishonourable”.

And Israeli President Isaac Herzog echoed Friday criticism of the UK government, saying on LBC radio it appeared to tolerate “this very brutal, aggressive and violent behaviour on the streets”.

Meanwhile, ahead of visiting Manchester Friday, Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the attack was the “tragic result of Jew hatred”.

“This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come,” he added on X.

“For so long we have witnessed an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, on campuses, on social media and elsewhere.”

Some Orthodox Jewish worshippers in Manchester and elsewhere who had switched off phones and computers for the day only learnt of the attack after leaving other synagogues late Thursday.

“Of course, everyone in the community in recent years has experienced some sort of antisemitism,” said Alex, a 31-year-old Jewish company director living near the synagogue who declined to give his last name.

“I think the conflict in Israel has definitely exacerbated the feelings of resentment.”