MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the “vile” synagogue assailant who “attacked Jews because they are Jews” on the holiest day of the year at a Manchester synagogue.
Starmer said the nation must defeat rising antisemitism as he promised to increase security in Jewish communities. He spoke Thursday after leading an emergency security meeting following the attack by an assailant who drove a car into people outside a synagogue and then began stabbing them. Two people were killed and four seriously wounded on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.
“I promise you that over the coming days, you will see the other Britain, the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love,” Starmer said. “I promise you that this Britain will come together to wrap our arms around your community and show you that Britain is a place where you and your family are safe, secure and belong.”
Referring to the Holocaust, the Labour Party leader said Jews had come to Britain for refuge after “fleeing the greatest evil ever inflicted on a people.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue Thursday in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.
Officers shot and killed the suspect outside Manchester, police said, though authorities took some time to confirm he was dead because he was wearing a vest that made it appear as if he had explosives. Authorities later said he did not have a bomb.
The Metropolitan Police in London, who lead counter-terrorism policing operations, declared the rampage a terrorist attack.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said two other suspects were arrested, though he provided no further information on the arrests. He said police believe they know the identity of the man who carried out the attack but have not confirmed it.
The attack took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue in a suburban neighborhood of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Police said the two people killed were Jewish.
Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.
More than 1,500 incidents were reported in the first half of the year, the second-highest six-month total reported since the record set over the same period a year earlier.
“This is every rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,” said Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of Maidenhead Synagogue and head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain. “Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering.”
Witnesses describe a car driving toward the synagogue and then a stabbing attack
Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue around 9:30 a.m. — shortly after services had begun.
Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the man drove directly at pedestrians outside the synagogue and then attacked them with a knife.
Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside their house and said there had been a “terrorist attack.”
A witness told her that she saw a car driving erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship.
“She thought maybe he had a heart attack,” Lewin said. “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.”
Minutes later, police fired shots, hitting the assailant.
Video on social media showed police with guns pointed at a person lying on the ground beneath a blue Star of David on the brick wall of the synagogue.
A bystander could be heard on the video saying the man had a bomb and was trying to detonate it. When the man tried to stand up, a gunshot rang out and he fell to the ground.
On the sidewalk outside the synagogue gate nearby, the body of another person lay in a pool of blood.
Watson credited security guards and congregants for their bravery in preventing assailant from getting inside the prayer service.
Police later detonated an explosion to get into the suspect’s car.
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.
Authorities declare an emergency
Immediately after the attack, police declared “Plato,” the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and that additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.
He flew back to London early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.
“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 on the X platform.
King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened” to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident, and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,” he said on his social media feed.
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