What to know about the attack at a synagogue in England on Yom Kippur

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LONDON (AP) — A man drove a car into people and stabbed them outside a synagogue in northwest England on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.

Two people were killed and at least three were hurt in the attack on Thursday at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester. The attacker was shot and killed by police, who called his actions a terrorist attack.

Here’s what to know:

Police were called to the synagogue in the Manchester suburb of Crumpsall, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London, shortly after 9:30 a.m. Thursday by a member of the public.

The attacker rammed a car into pedestrians, then attacked them with a knife, and wore what appeared to be an explosives belt. He was shot dead by police seven minutes after they were called to the site. The bomb belt was later found to be fake.

Police praised the “quick response” of the witness as well as the bravery of security guards and worshippers for preventing the suspect from entering the synagogue.

Greater Manchester Police said two people were killed by the attacker: Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, both members of the local Jewish community.

Three people were hospitalized in serious condition. One person sustained a stab wound while a second was struck by the car driven by the attacker. A third person arrived at a hospital with an injury that may have been sustained as officers stopped the attacker.

Police said the man responsible for the attack was Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent who came to the U.K. as a young child and became a citizen in 2006.

Authorities said he was not previously known to police or the security services. Al-Shamie translates into English as “the Syrian” and authorities are unsure whether that is his birth name.

Three other people — two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s — have been arrested on suspicion of preparing or committing acts of terrorism. They are in custody but have not been charged.

Around six hours after the incident, the Metropolitan Police in London, which leads counterterror policing operations across the U.K., confirmed that the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said police forces across the country are stepping up patrols at synagogues and other Jewish sites “to provide reassurance to all those communities who have been affected by this incident.”

Police said they are still working to determine the motive behind the attack. But it took place on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Synagogues are filled with people on the holy day.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer returned early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to London where he chaired an emergency security meeting. Afterward, he condemned the “vile individual” for attacking Jews “because they are Jews.” He also promised that he would do everything in his power to guarantee the security of the Jewish population, “starting with a more visible police presence.”

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the attack was “the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come,” and urged authorities to stem a rising tide of antisemitism in Britain. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it.”

King Charles III said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”

Politicians from across the political spectrum also condemned the attack, as did Muslim, Christian and other religious leaders.

The U.K. has traditionally been a safe country for Jewish people though antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have risen following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in the U.K.

Starmer acknowledged that antisemitism is “a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again.”