People react near the scene, after an attack in which a car was driven at pedestrians and stabbings were reported near a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
People gather near the scene, after an attack in which a car was driven at pedestrians and stabbings were reported near a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement, after he left the European Political Community summit, amid a reported attack in which a car was driven at pedestrians and a stabbing attack near a synagogue in north Manchester, at Copenhagen Airport, in Kastrup, Denmark, October 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool
Emergency personnel work at the scene following an incident outside a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
People gather near the scene, after a report of an incident in which a car was driven at pedestrians and a stabbing attack, near a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble

By Phil Noble

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -At least two people were killed when an assailant drove a car into pedestrians and stabbed a security guard near a synagogue in England where worshippers were marking Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, British police said.

Greater Manchester Police said the suspect, who was believed to be carrying a bomb, was shot dead on Thursday after they rushed to the scene at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall district of the city in northern England.

A video shared on social media and verified by Reuters showed police shooting a man inside the synagogue’s perimeter, while another man lay on the floor in a pool of blood, appearing to wear a traditional Jewish head covering.

'HE HAS A BOMB!'

"He has a bomb, go away!" an armed police officer shouted to onlookers as he tried to wave away members of the public, just seconds before a gunshot rang out, and the suspect who was trying to get to his feet fell to the floor.

"I could see three policemen aiming guns at a bloke (man) in the car park of the synagogue next door, telling him to not move, stay down, don't move or we'll shoot," neighbour Angela Crawshaw told Reuters.

"Then they did shoot, and he fell to the floor. Then he tried getting up again and moving again, and they shot him again. And then it was just panic ... just noise and panic."

A bomb disposal unit was later called to the scene, and a Reuters witness heard three small explosions. Police confirmed that one loud bang was specialist officers gaining entry to the suspect's vehicle as a precaution.

GMP said that as well as the suspect and two members of the public who were confirmed dead, three other people were in a serious condition.

After the attack, police were seen ushering a large group of mostly Jewish elderly men - some in tears, many looking shocked - away from the synagogue. Some were wearing white robes, others were in suits and wearing a skullcap.

Crawshaw said she saw about 30 people being taken out, including three young children, with three bodies also dragged out from the building on orange stretchers.

"I'm appalled by the attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said as he rushed away early from a European political gathering in Copenhagen to return to Britain to chair an emergency meeting.

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

Starmer said that additional police were being deployed to synagogues across the country, adding "we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe".

Britain's King Charles said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" to learn of the attack, "especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community".

The Israeli embassy in London said on X the attack was "abhorrent and deeply distressing", and that it was in close contact with the Manchester Jewish community.

SUSPECT WAS 'STABBING ANYONE NEAR HIM'

Another neighbour, Chava Lewin, said she had been told that the car had been driving erratically before crashing into the gates of the synagogue.

"The second he got out of the car he started stabbing anyone near him. He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue," she told British media. "Someone barricaded the door. Everyone is in utter shock."

Police said they were grateful to the member of the public who raised the alarm and so helped prevent the offender from entering the synagogue.

Yom Kippur is the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar when even many non-regular synagogue-goers take time to pray and all road traffic stops in Israel.

Britain reported its second worst year in modern times for antisemitism in 2024 with more than 3,500 incidents being recorded, reflecting sustained levels of hatred towards Jews, the Community Security Trust, which provides security to Jewish organisations across Britain, said earlier this year.

Levels of antisemitism rose to record levels in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza that has widely demolished the small Palestinian enclave.

Attacks on Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since the Gaza war erupted, including in France and Germany where incidents have surged. French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that France stood beside Britain's Jewish community.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Britain has suffered a number of Islamist militant attacks, with the worst being the July 2005 suicide bombings in the London transport network which killed 52 people.

More recently, a 2017 suicide bomb attack at the end of an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester killed 22 people and injured hundreds. British police and security services say 43 late-stage attack plots have been thwarted since March 2017.

British police have in recent years also warned about the threat from organised far-right terrorism.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Muvija M, Phil Noble, Andrew MacAskill, Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti; writing by Kate Holton and Michael Holden; editing by Mark Heinrich)