Manchester police say one victim killed in synagogue attack was shot by officers accidentally

Manchester/London: Police have revealed that one of the two people killed during an attack on a Manchester synagogue on Thursday was accidentally shot by an officer.

One of three people injured was also thought to have been shot by police as they tried to stop a man assailing worshippers at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

In a lengthy statement posted on social media, Greater Manchester Police said the force believed the suspect, 35-year-old Jihad al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, had not had a gun.

Witnesses described seeing a car mount the footpath and hit an individual outside the synagogue, in what they thought was an accident. They then saw a man get out of the car, wielding a knife and stabbing those nearby to gain entry to the building, before he was shot and killed by police.

“It is currently believed … the only shots fired were from GMP’s authorised firearms officers as they worked to prevent the offender from entering the synagogue and causing further harm to our Jewish community,” chief constable Sir Stephen Watson said in the statement.

“It follows therefore … that this [fatal] injury may have sadly been sustained as a tragic and unforseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end.

The injury to the gunshot victim in hospital was “mercifully not life-threatening”.

The Metropolitan Police force in London, which leads the nation’s counterterrorism policing operations, declared the rampage a terrorist attack.

Authorities said al-Shamie entered Britain as a child and gained British citizenship in 2006 when he was a teenager. An initial check of records showed he was not part of Britain’s counterterrorism program that tries to identify people at risk of being radicalised. The government said it was too early to say if he had been part of a terrorist cell.

Police also said two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s had been arrested “on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism”.

The two people killed have been named by police as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, both from the local Crumpsall area. Of the other two hospitalised victims, one sustained a stab wound, while the second was struck by the car involved in the attack.

The attack has shocked Britain. It has also brought on a debate about rising antisemitism amid regular public protests against Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, events that some Jewish leaders have named as a factor in bringing overseas conflict onto the streets of Britain.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who flew back to London early from a summit of European leaders in Denmark, ordered stronger police protection for all Jewish centres around Britain after he emerged from a cabinet meeting to condemn the attack.

“Earlier today, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish community, a vile individual committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values,” Starmer said.

Acknowledging the rising antisemitism, he addressed Jewish people directly in a televised media statement that said Britain had to defeat the hatred against Jews as it had done before.

“I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community,” he said.

King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened” by the attack.

Jewish leaders praised the rapid response by local police, who stopped the suspect within seven minutes of being called, but they expressed dismay at rising antisemitism and called on political leaders to do more to stop the hatred and violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel grieved with the Jewish community in Britain, adding: “Weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has called on the Starmer government to “curb this toxic wave of antisemitism” in Britain.

“The authorities in Britain have failed to take the necessary action to curb this toxic wave of antisemitism and have effectively allowed it to persist,” he said.

“We expect more than words from the Starmer government. We expect and demand a change of course, effective action, and enforcement against the rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement in Britain.”

Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester chief executive Marc Levy said the country had to do more to stop foreign conflicts being imported onto British streets.

He said the attack showed what it meant when protesters used phrases like “globalising the intifada” – a reference to the Palestinian uprising against Israel.

“Unfortunately, at this time, we have seen a surge in hate crime, and we have been warning about this for a considerable period of time,” he told the BBC. “And there has been precious little solidarity and support from many in wider society who seem to dismiss anti-Jewish racism as some second-class form of racism.”

Dame Louise Ellman, a vice president of the Jewish Leadership Council and a former Labour MP, said there had been rising concern about antisemitism and fears that an attack would occur.

“It’s an issue for the Jewish community; it’s also an issue for the whole of society,” she said. “What are we going to do to stop hate speech? We want freedom of speech, yes, but it should not spill into hatred.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered his condolences to the people of Manchester, saying: “There is no place for terrorism in our streets and all Australians stand with the UK at this dreadful time.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley urged the government to do more to address the risks to the Australian Jewish community, while Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie criticised Albanese’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

Witnesses describe knife attack

Greater Manchester Police said they had been called to the synagogue about 9.30am, shortly after services had begun.

“The guy had a knife, and he was just stabbing the window trying to get in,” one witness, Gareth, told the BBC.

Those inside the synagogue helped to stop the attacker alongside security volunteers who closed the building and prevented him from entering, police said.

“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,” Watson said.

In one video shared on social media, police urge bystanders to move back, while a suspect lies on the ground next to the synagogue wall. A policeman says the suspect has a bomb. When the man attempts to get up, he is shot. Police later said he did not have a “viable” explosive.

The synagogue is in the northern Manchester suburb of Crumpsall, where Jewish and Muslim communities live side by side. Manchester is home to more than 25,000 Jews, the largest community in Britain outside London.

Police cordoned off homes in parts of Manchester while they investigated the suspects they believe had assisted al-Shamie.

Just hours after the attack, thousands of people waving Palestinian flags gathered in central London. They were responding to an earlier call to protest against the arrest of activist Greta Thunberg and others after Israeli forces had intercepted a flotilla of more than 40 vessels seeking to land in Gaza to deliver aid and show support for the Palestinian cause.

Violent clashes broke out between pro-Palestinian protesters and police outside the gates of Downing Street, setting off a debate about whether protesters should take to the streets hours after the attack on the synagogue.

Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest terror attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.

With AP

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