One of the Victims Killed by Police Gunfire
BBC News
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One of the victims killed in the synagogue attack on Thursday was hit by police gunfire as officers shot the attacker, Greater Manchester Police say
A large crowd has gathered as a vigil in the area is under way – you can Watch live at the top of this page
Two Jewish men were killed when a man drove a car at members of the public before stabbing people – they have been named as Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz
One of the three victims in hospital – Yoni Finlay – is being treated for a non-life-threatening wound after being hit by police gunfire
The family of Jihad Al-Shamie, who police believe carried out the attack, has condemned the "heinous act" – here's what we know about the suspect
Three people have been arrested and police are treating the attack as a terror incident
The synagogue's leaders say this is "an episode that has changed us all forever"
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has thanked first responders after visiting the synagogue, adding that he will ensure the Jewish community is "safe and secure"
Edited by Johanna Chisholm and Jamie Whitehead, with Jonny Humphries reporting from Manchester
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham speaks now and calls the attack "appalling".
He says the speakers are at the vigil today because "we care about you, we love you, we value what you have given".
Burnham adds that an attack on one of us "is an attack on all of us" – explaining that that is the foundation "on which this city region has been built".
He specifically praises the Community Safety Trust and the people who "mobilised" yesterday morning.
Those in attendance cheer as he says this.
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council is next to speak, and she takes to the stage with some light applause.
Craig says she isn’t going to stand there and say “empty words”, and vows that they will “fight back”.
“An attack on you is an attack on all of us," she says, referring to the city’s Jewish community, adding “we must do better”.
Craig says the city is willing to meeting with “every single one of you… we are here to listen, not lecture”.
A woman in the crowd, who had been heckling Lammy, yells “thank you!”
“We stand with you, we love you, we support you and we want to hear from you,” Craig says.
Speakers at the Manchester vigil have now finished addressing the crowd, but we are continuing to bring you some of the key lines from the address.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is then introduced, and there are some boos from the crowd as well as chants of "shame on you" break out.
Lammy takes a moment before speaking, and starts by saying "we must stand together today".
He expresses his thoughts and prayers for those killed, as well as for the wider Jewish community, and says that people are "terrified" by yesterday's events and fear becoming victims of "antisemitic hate".
But, he says the Jewish community is "strong, resilient and will never be cowed".
"We stand with you against terrorism," he continues, as some observers continue to shout from the crowd.
Adlestone implores them to let Lammy speak, and he finishes by asking protestors who are considering marching over the weekend to "stop and to stand back".
Next to speak is Mark Adlestone OBE who is the chair of the Jewish Leadership Council.
He begins by saying: "I am still shell-shocked by what happened yesterday."
"I know our community is looking for two things," he continues. "Leadership and hope. We are blessed to have various MPs and civic dignitaries with us."
Adlestone says the community is grieving for the loss of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, as well as praying for those injured in hospital.
He adds that change needs to happen as he looks to a sign in front of him and reads out "no more words, we need action".
"We have to ban the phrase 'globalise the intifada'," he adds. "We have to tackle those people who are spreading hatred in places of worship; we have to tackle the university campuses and in the NHS".
"Jew hatred cannot be allowed to continue."
Rabbi Daniel Walker begins speaking to the people gathered for the vigil by saying they are standing very close to the Heaton Park Synagogue – the site of yesterday's deadly attack.
“We can see it, but we can’t get in, because the aftermath of the horror continues," Rabbi Walker says.
The rabbi then acknowledges someone who he says was the “hero of the Heaton Park community, who is today in hospital recovering from terrible wounds”.
He mentions two people – Andrew and Bernard – who he says blocked the attacker with their bodies.
Rabbi Walker then leads a prayer.
Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Manchester
Here at the vigil, a large crowd has gathered at the hastily erected stage by the cordon on Crumpsall Lane and Middleton Road with umbrellas and waterproofs against the heavy rain.
They have been waiting patiently for speakers to take the stage, including Rabbi Daniel Walker, who is credited with locking the attacker outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue.
Alongside the police is a large contingent from the Community Safety Trust, the voluntary organisation providing security to the Jewish community, with two-way radios and matching uniforms.
Some of those in attendance had direct connections with yesterday's attack. Robert Rosenfield told me a relative is in critical care after being stabbed.
"The whole thing has just been atrocious, but to find out it's someone who is so close to you, your family, makes it hit home even harder."
Others said they wanted to "show solidarity" with those who had been caught up.
The BBC understands that Yoni Finlay was the man hit by police gunfire at the synagogue yesterday.
In a statement from Greater Manchester Police earlier, Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said that one of the three victims receiving treatment in hospital had suffered a gunshot wound, which is not life threatening.
Katherine Bainbridge
Senior journalist, BBC England
Esther Seymour, a Jewish woman, and Celeste Cavanagh, a Catholic, held hands as they lit candles at a Crumpsall church
Before today's vigil got under way, a Jewish woman and a Catholic woman held hands as they visited St Anne's Catholic Church and lit candles in Crumpsall.
Esther Seymour, a Jewish woman, who went to the church with her friend Celeste Cavanagh, a Catholic, says seeing so many people of different faiths attend "warmed her heart".
Esther tells BBC Radio Manchester: "It feels like a lot of people are against Jewish people, and it just felt really nice coming here and seeing so many people of other faiths.
"I've seen Muslim people here which is so nice, I feel so bad for how they must be feeling as well, I really do, because we all want peace, we're cousins according to the religion.
"The majority of people want to be together, we want to be in peace, we want to live side by side."
Celeste adds: "We turn to faith when things like this happen, and I wanted to obviously meet Esther here to light candles and show that we are standing side by side.”
Shortly, a vigil organised in part by the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester will begin.
We are expecting to hear from some key members of the community, as well as local politicians.
You can follow by pressing watch live at the top of this page. Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.
As we just mentioned, a vigil is starting in the next few minutes for the victims of yesterday's attack near the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester.
For now, here is an overview of the past few hours:
Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Manchester
Sam, an Orthodox Jewish man living behind the synagogue, said he recognised Melvin Cravitz when he saw the news reported that he had been killed in yesterday's attack.
“We used to see him around the neighbourhood and he would stop and chat, he was a very gentle, nice man.”
Sam said he personally attended the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue most Saturdays, although he was elsewhere for Yom Kippur, and was unsure whether he could face going back.
He said he was not surprised by an attack on the Jewish community.
“It is a shock and horror, but not surprise. The way things have been going recently and how we have been targeted just for looking Jewish.
“At the moment we are scared.”
Melvin Cravitz, pictured here, was named by police as one of the two Jewish men killed on Thursday
A vigil is planned for later today to honour the victims of yesterday's Manchester synagogue attack.
Organised partly by the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester – alongside Manchester City Council – a group is expected to gather near the Heaton Park Synagogue at 15:00 BST.
The council says the vigil will be "a space for reflection, support and collective strength in the face of hate".
We'll be bringing you occasional updates on the vigil here, but you'll also be able to follow along by pressing watch live at the top of this page from 15:00 BST.
Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK, tells the BBC that his community has been left feeling “deeply, deeply shaken” by yesterday's attack.
But he adds that “Judaism is a deeply resilient religion”, and the community has “no intention to forego our love of Jewish life and our willingness to practice it”.
On further protections for Jews in the UK, the rabbi tells BBC News channel that actions to protect all people of faith are “urgent and essential”.
The Manchester synagogue attack, he says, has only taken that need “to another level of horror".
Three UK-based Syrian organisations have issued a joint statement condemning yesterday’s attack and expressing “full solidarity with our Jewish neighbours as they grieve”.
“We stress unequivocally that houses of worship must remain places of peace, safety, and sanctity, never targets of hate or violence,” writes the Syrian British Consortium, Rethink Rebuild Society and Syria Solidarity Campaign.
Their comments come after police confirmed that the attacker was a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent.
The organisations have also called for calm, saying "we appeal to our wider society not to allow this tragedy to give rise to racist incidents directed at Syrians, Muslims, or migrants".
“At the same time, we hope this incident will not be misused to impose restrictions on freedom of expression – particularly the right to peacefully protest and speak out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
That comment follows pro-Palestinian protests that took place on Thursday evening, which Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said this morning were "fundamentally un-British".
Rabbi Walker was among the signatories of the statement
The statement closes with the group saying the Heaton Park Synagogue has been strengthened by countless expressions of solidarity which have poured in from across the Jewish community, faith leaders, politicians and neighbours of every background.
"In our darkest hour, you have shown us that we do not stand alone. Your embrace reminds us that love and compassion remain stronger than hate.
"As the Chief Rabbi has noted, this attack was an assault not only on Jews, but upon our shared values.
"The greatest tribute to the memory of Adrian and Melvin would be for communities right across the country to come together in peace and solidarity, to challenge the evil of antisemitism wherever it is found, so that no other community has to endure these horrors ever again.
"For now we will continue to weep, we will continue to pray, and we will continue to live our lives as Jews with dignity and faith."
That concludes the statement, which was signed by Rabbi Daniel Walker, the executive and trustees of Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester.
We can bring you some more now from the joint statement which has just been issued by Rabbi Daniel Walker, the executive and trustees of Heaton Park Synagogue.
The statement continues: "Two of our beloved members were murdered in cold blood, and others remain in hospital with serious injuries. The loss we feel is beyond words."
"These were not simply members of our synagogue – they were our friends, our family – and their absence leaves a void that can never be filled.
The statement continues by saying that "even in this valley of deepest sorrow", the synagogue's community has been "upheld by extraordinary courage and kindness from so many".
They go on to thank the first responders and the synagogue's security team for their "swift and selfless actions", which saved countless lives.
"To all of them we owe a debt that can never be repaid."
Rabbi Daniel Walker, the executive and trustees of Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester have just released a statement on yesterday's attack.
"This desecration of our synagogue, on Yom Kippur of all days, is an episode that has changed us all forever," the statement reads.
Stay with us as we bring you more on this breaking news statement.
By Phil Leake
The number of antisemitic hate crimes in Greater Manchester increased at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023 but has since returned to lower levels, according to monthly data collected by the police.
Greater Manchester Police has figures dating back to March 2020 on the number of hate crimes recorded against different religions, external.
They show a spike in hate crimes against Jewish people in late 2023, with 85 reported in October and 68 in November.
This compares with an average of 12 per month between March 2020 and September 2023.
Incidents remained high in early 2024 with 34 hate crimes per month on average in the first half of the year, before falling back to levels seen before the conflict.
The chief executive of Jewish charity the Community Security Trust (CST), which provides security for the Jewish community, has confirmed that one of its personnel was injured in yesterday's attack.
In a statement posted on social media, Mark Gardner says he has given his assurance that the CST "would do everything" in its power to keep Jews safe. "In pursuit of that mission, one of our CST personnel was seriously injured in yesterday's terror attack at Heaton Park Synagogue."
"We pray for his continuing recovery and salute the courage of all those who helped stop the terrorist from getting into the shul," he says.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has this morning declared yesterday’s synagogue attack in Manchester a “major incident”.
A major incident can be declared when an event causes death or serious harm to a significant number of people.
In a statement, Lammy also says the victims will be supported by an Independent Public Advocate (IPA), which will make sure victims and their close friends and family members affected by the incident understand their rights and can access support.
The IPA will also help victims through any investigations that may arise if the government decides to launch an inquiry or inquest into the attack.
This follows Lammy attending an emergency Cobra committee meeting at Downing Street yesterday with Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
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