Three people were killed in the incident, including the offender and a worshipper who were both shot dead by police. Three other people were injured and treated in hospital; one was hit by the car, one had a stab wound and the third was wounded by police gunfire. The incident was declared a terrorist attack later that day.
The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, was a 35-year-old British citizen and lived in nearby Prestwich.
British Jews have raised concerns about increased vandalism at synagogues and antisemitic comments online and in person due to the ongoing war in Gaza. Jewish security groups, including Community Security Trust, issued warnings earlier in the summer for Jewish people to "be vigilant and follow the strict security measures that are in place at communal buildings, events and areas" such as locking all doors when not in use, conducting security sweeps, and avoiding congregating outside communal buildings.[2]
Incident
Police were called to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall at 9:31am BST on 2 October 2025, after callers reported that a driver had driven into pedestrians and begun stabbing people.[3]Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers declared a major incident and arrived at the scene within seven minutes, shooting the attacker dead at 9:38am. Residents reported seeing a man with a knife jump out of a moving car which been driven recklessly. He began stabbing people; others saw people on the ground bleeding.[4] Worshippers had gathered for a Yom Kippur service, which had begun at 9am.[5] Eyewitnesses inside the synagogue praised Rabbi Daniel Walker for protecting congregants by locking them inside the synagogue and keeping the attacker out, before moving them to safety.[6]
Firearms officers were deployed at 9:34am as police received further reports that a security guard had been attacked with a knife. GMP declared a major incident shortly before shots were fired by firearms officers at 9:38am, killing a man believed to be the offender[7] as well as a worshipper.[8][9]
At 9:37am GMP initiated Operation Plato, a protocol used in response to suspected terrorist attacks. The incident was formally declared a terrorist attack later that day.[10][11] Paramedics arrived at 9:41am and treated four members of the public for injuries caused by the vehicle and stab wounds.[5][12]
Around noon, a bomb disposal unit was deployed to the scene because police believed the attacker was wearing a suicide belt.[13][3] Police said that they were unable to confirm whether the attacker was dead until the investigation concluded.[11] Investigators would later state the device was "found to be not viable".[3] At 1:23pm, a loud controlled explosion was reported,[14] which was later confirmed to be from the police gaining access to the attacker's car.[15] Police presence was increased at every synagogue in the Greater Manchester area in the immediate aftermath of the attack.[16][13]
In a statement on 3 October, Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said that one of the dead victims and one of the hospitalised victims were likely accidentally shot by firearm officers.[8][17]
Victims
Three men were confirmed dead following the attack, including the male attacker, who was shot by police. The two fatal victims, identified as 53-year old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, were Jewish. According to police, Daulby was accidentally shot by officers,[17][18] and died due to the gunshot wound.[19] Both[clarification needed] victims were believed to have been standing behind the synagogue doors, blocking entry. Police also said that three people were seriously injured and remain in hospital in a serious condition; one has a stab wound, one was hit by the car,[11] and the third was wounded by police gunfire.[18][11][19]
Attacker
The offender was identified as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old Syrian-born man who had migrated to the United Kingdom with his family as a child and had naturalised as a British citizen in 2006 aged 16.[20]
At the time of the attack, al-Shamie resided in the Langley Crescent area of Prestwich, located two miles from the synagogue.[21][22] He had not been a part of the Prevent counter-terrorism programme that tries to identify people at risk of being radicalised.[23] According to one of his neighbours, al-Shamie "didn't stand out" and never spoke about politics.[24] Although al-Shamie was not known to counter-terror police, he had a criminal record with convictions for several minor offences, and at the time of his death was free on bail and under investigation for an alleged rape committed earlier that year.[25][23] It is also suspected that he was the author of a death threat sent to Conservative MP John Howell in 2012 after Howell expressed support for Israel.[23]
Following the attacks, Al-Shamie's father, Faraj, released a statement believed to have been made on behalf of the wider al-Shamie family denouncing the attacks.[26][27] Investigative journalists at multiple UK media outlets uncovered social media posts where Faraj had previously expressed support for the attacks on Israeli military bases during the 7 October attacks on Israel.[28][29][27][30]
Investigation
The national head of counter-terrorist policing announced the attack was being treated as a terrorist incident, and that three people other than the assailant have been arrested in two separate areas.[20] Two men in their thirties in Crumpsall and a woman in her sixties in Prestwich were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism following the attack.[31] Three more arrests occurred the following day, consisting of a man and two women aged from 18 to their mid-40s.[32] On 3 October police were seeking to further detain all six people.[31]
Investigators said they were "still trying to locate and examine all of the suspect's electronic devices, looking for clues as to what radicalised him" and are looking for "an Islamist motive but are looking for evidence to confirm or rebut that theory".[33]
Reactions
Prime Minister Keir Starmer returned from a European Political Community leaders' meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a COBR emergency meeting.[10] Starmer said at a press conference that the attacker targeted "Jews because they are Jews" and said that the United Kingdom "must defeat this rising hatred".[34] He said that "extra police assets" would be deployed to synagogues across the country due to the attack.[11] Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood echoed this, saying the government "will do whatever is required to keep our Jewish community safe."[33] Mayor of London Sadiq Khan likewise announced there would be a "stepping up (of) patrols in Jewish communities and synagogues across London" by the Metropolitan Police.[13]Mayor of Greater ManchesterAndy Burnham commended the quick response of the Greater Manchester Police and raised concerns about the fear and sadness caused by the attack, saying that the city would not allow "division in our communities".[33][35]
Mahmood urged the cancellation of pro-Palestinian marches after the terror attack, backing police calls to halt a major protest planned for Saturday in Trafalgar Square. Hours after the attack, clashes broke out between demonstrators and police outside Downing Street, while Mahmood separately denounced such protests as "un-British," "dishonourable," and "insensitive" to Jewish communities.[36]Defend Our Juries defended its intention to go ahead with a protest against the proscription of Palestine Action on the Saturday following the attack, saying that conflating the actions of Israel with Jewish people around the world could fuel antisemitism.[37] Dave Rich, the head of policy at the Community Security Trust, founded to provide security to Britain's Jewish community, called the decision "remarkably self absorbed and insensitive".[38]
British Jews expressed shock and concern over the attack, with Britain's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis highlighting the rise in antisemitism and that the attack was the result of the unchecked rise.[39] British Christian and Muslim community leaders condemned the attack and offered prayers and support to the Jewish people in the UK.[35]
The King said he and the Queen were "deeply shocked and saddened" and that their "thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident".[40]The Prince and Princess of Wales also praised the swift actions of emergency services.[41]Amnesty International UK expressed sadness over the events, calling it a "horrific act of violence that has taken the lives of two innocent people and injured many more".[42]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed sympathy, saying "Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK after the barbaric terror attack in Manchester", adding "as I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it."[43][33] Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused the British authorities of not doing enough to curb rising antisemitism in Britain, stating that "blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement" had become common.[44]
The deputy prime minister, David Lammy, was booed and barracked on 3 October when he addressed a vigil in Manchester.[18]
On 4 October, a previously planned pro-Palestinian protest was held in north Manchester, with over 100 in attendance.[45]
1 2 Humphries, Jonny; Mullen, Tom; Hirst, Lauren (3 October 2025). "Jihad Al-Shamie: Who was the Manchester synagogue attacker?". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2025. Following the attack on Thursday, the Al-Shamie family issused a statement. In it Al-Shamie's father, Faraj Al-Shamie, said: "The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us. "The Al-Shamie family in the UK and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians." [...] A post on Faraj Al-Shamie's Facebook page, which had been verified by the BBC but has since been removed, appeared to praise the 7 October attack by Hamas.
↑ Wright, Robert; Jalabi, Raya. "What we know about Manchester synagogue attacker Jihad Al-Shamie". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 October 2025. Faraj, a doctor who has worked in conflicts around the world including in South Sudan, has posted regularly on Facebook about the turmoil in the Middle East. On October 7, 2023, he asked God to protect Palestine's "heroic people", and said footage of Hamas fighters attacking an Israeli military camp "with simple means" showed that "Israel will not endure". "Regardless of who leads them, they are the true compass: men confident in their victory even if their resources are limited," he said.{{cite news}}: no-break space character in |quote= at position 235 (help)
↑ Vinter, Robyn (4 October 2025). "UK antisemitism 'allowed to grow', Jewish security group says before pro-Palestine protests". The Guardian. Antisemitism has been "allowed to grow" by politicians and across wider society, the main Jewish security group has said in the aftermath of the attack on a Manchester synagogue, which left three people dead. Speaking before planned pro-Palestine marches on Saturday, Dave Rich, head of policy at the Community Security Trust, said it was "remarkably self absorbed and insensitive" for people to attend a silent vigil for Gaza after Thursday's attack. [...] "I think it's phenomenally tone deaf, to say the least, for so many people who claim to care about human rights and care about freedoms, to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation, which is not the same thing as supporting the Palestinians. The two are not the same."
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