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LONDON — Two people were killed and three others were seriously injured Thursday, after a man rammed a car into a crowd and stabbed people at a synagogue in the northern English city of Manchester.
It came as worshippers observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the two deaths in a statement on X, and said that the suspect was “believed to be deceased.”
The force added that it can’t confirm the death of the suspect because of “suspicious items” on the body. Bomb disposal officers were on the scene.
Police were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, in a part of north Manchester known for its large Jewish community, at 9:31 a.m. local time (4:31 a.m. ET). Police said a witness described seeing “a car being driven towards members of the public and one man had been stabbed.”
Minutes later, police said a man “believed to be the offender” had been shot by officers.
Police said the incident may have been worse, had a quick-thinking member of the congregation not stopped the suspect from entering the building.
“We are grateful to the member of the public whose quick response to what they witnessed allowed our swift action, and as a result the offender was prevented from entering the synagogue,” a spokesperson said.
A video uploaded to social media, which was verified by NBC News, shows a man lying on the ground outside the synagogue while two officers point their guns at him — the man tries to get up and an officer fires a single round.
The same video shows a man wearing a Jewish yarmulke lying in a pool of blood just yards away.
Police said a large number of worshippers were kept inside the synagogue after the attack but have since been allowed to leave.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was at a European Summit in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, told reporters he was immediately traveling back to London to chair a meeting of COBRA, the U.K.’s emergency response committee.
“I’m already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe,” he said.
The Israeli Embassy in London condemned the attack in a statement. “That such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in a place of prayer and community, is abhorrent and deeply distressing,” it said.
King Charles III said in a statement that he and 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.”
Earlier, Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack in a post on X.
“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific. My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services and all the first responders,” said Starmer, whose wife, Victoria, is Jewish.
The Community Security Trust, a Jewish charity that provides security services, said it was “working with police and the local Jewish community.”
“This appears to be an appalling attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year,” the group added in a statement on X.
Graham Stringer, the member of Parliament who represents the local area, said in a statement that it was “dreadful attack designed to damage the Jewish community and damage inter-faith and inter-community relationships.”
He said Mancunians, the term for people from Manchester, would come together just as they did after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, in which 22 people died following an Ariana Grande concert.
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
Isabella Colletta is a desk editor for NBC News in London.
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