Greater Manchester Police have named the two victims of yesterday’s terror attack at a synagogue, after revealing details about the suspect. The home secretary has told Sky News police are on “high alert” across the UK. Follow live below.
Friday 3 October 2025 08:13, UK
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Chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis is set to visit Manchester today.
He said it is a “very dark time” as he referred to an “unrelenting wave of hatred against Jews”.
“Right now, our hearts are shattered,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“What transpired yesterday was an awful blow to us, something which actually we were fearing might happen because of the buildup to this action.”
He said “unjustified demonisation of Israel” has fed into an “anti-Jewish sentiment within the tone of Britain, and that then encourages extremism”.
We’re getting through some images from the scene at Middleton Road in Crumpsall this morning.
Several bouquets of flowers have been left nearby, with one including the message: “In sympathy and with love.”
A large police cordon is still in place, with a blue forensics tent visible inside.
We can now bring you a picture of one of the victims killed in yesterday’s terror attack, Melvin Cravitz, 66.
Adrian Daulby, 53, was also killed, and three people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says pro-Palestinian marches last night were “fundamentally un-British” and “dishonourable”.
“I was very disappointed to see the protests go ahead last night,” she tells Sky News.
“I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it’s dishonourable.
“I would have wanted those individuals to take a step back.
“The issues that are driving those protests have been going on now for some time. They don’t look like they’re going to come to an end any day soon.”
She says the demonstrators should have shown “some humanity” by giving the Jewish community a few days to grieve. 
“Just because you have a freedom, doesn’t mean you have to use it.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is speaking to Sky News.
She says the synagogue attack was “devastating” and “horrifying”, as she paid tribute to those who prevented the attacker from entering the synagogue.
The government is stepping up policing resources around the Jewish community, she adds, and officers are on “high alert”, with police resources increased “across the country”.
An attack on them is “an attack on all of us”, she says.
Suspect Jihad al Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, came to the UK as a “small child” and was naturalised as a British citizen while still a child in the mid-2000s, she says.
“For now, that is all we know of the attacker,” she adds.
The home secretary has urged pro-Palestine protesters not to carry out demonstrations in the wake of the terror attack in Manchester.
Shabana Mahmood said they should “take a step back” for a few days “to give the Jewish community here a chance to process what has happened and to begin the grieving process as well”.
Some 40 people were arrested in Whitehall yesterday evening during a protest organised by the Global Movement for Gaza UK, following calls to meet in support of Greta Thunberg’s aid flotilla, which was prevented from reaching Gaza by the Israeli navy earlier this week.
“I am very disappointed that some of the organisers haven’t heeded the call to step back,” Mahmood told GB News.
“I would still call on people to show some love and some solidarity to the families of those who have been murdered and to our Jewish community.”
The two victims killed in yesterday’s attack were named this morning.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what we know about the terror attack so far.
Victims
A car and stabbing attack took place at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue yesterday morning.
Two people from the Jewish community were killed: Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66.
Three others are in hospital with serious injuries.
Suspects
Counter Terrorism Police named the suspect as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie.
He was shot dead by firearms officers.
Police said he was a British citizen of Syrian descent and that his name did not appear in any records of Prevent – the UK government’s counter-terrorism programme.
Three other people – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – have been arrested in connection with the attack.
They were being held on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
The attack in 10 minutes
Response
Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack and returned to the UK to chair an emergency COBRA meeting.
The King said that he and the Queen were “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack”.
Greater Manchester Police have deployed extra officers across the region today.
The man who carried out the attack in Greater Manchester was not known to the police, the Home Secretary has confirmed.
Speaking on GB News, Shabana Mahmood said: “In terms of the attacker, this individual was not known to the security services.
“He has obviously been shot dead at the scene, but the police investigations will now continue at pace.”
She thanked members of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall and the police, saying their actions helped save lives.
Society has an “urgent duty” to confront antisemitism, says the head of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
Chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman said the charity was  “horrified” by the attack.
“Antisemitism is a pernicious hatred that has no place in our society. 
“We must confront it wherever it arises, without hesitation and without compromise.”
She said the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust remembers the “devastating consequences of unchecked hatred”. 
“Our mission is to remember the darkest chapters of human history and to learn from the past to challenge prejudice today. That duty is all the more urgent in moments like this.”
Greater Manchester Police have expressed their “deepest sympathies” to the families of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz.
Detective chief superintendent Lewis Hughes said specially trained family liaison officers are in contact with them. 
“They will continue to update them on the investigation and support them throughout the coronial process.”
He continued: “Whilst there are processes which must be followed, we commit to being mindful of cultural preferences and sensitivities and to ensuring that these men and their loved ones’ wishes are respected.”
The detective said: “My deepest sympathies are with Mr Daulby and Mr Cravitz’s loved ones at this extremely hard time.”
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