By PAN PYLAS and BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Police say two victims have died and three others are in serious condition after UK synagogue attack.
The incident, which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is said to be over after a man, believed to be the offender, was shot by police.
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Emergency services at the scene of a stabbing at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue, in Crumpsall, Manchester, England, Thursday Oct. 2, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
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Emergency services at the scene of a stabbing at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue, in Crumpsall, Manchester, England, Thursday Oct. 2, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
“It is believed that the offender is deceased, although it’s not confirmed,” said the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, he said that as a result, a “degree of reassurance can be given that it’s not a developing, an ongoing, incident.”
In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public, who said he had witnessed a car being driven toward members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.
It said that minutes later shots were fired by firearms officers.
“One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.
Police say two victims have died and three others are in serious condition after UK synagogue attack.
Police said it had “declared Plato,” the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.” That does not mean it has been declared a terrorist incident.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.
He was flying home early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.
“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.
Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the U.K., said Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year.
“It’s a very solemn day and synagogues across the country will be full throughout the day,” he said.
He said there is “always a significant security operation in place” between police and the trust across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals.
Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.
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