2 dead, several injured after Manchester, U.K. synagogue attack

The incident took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.

An assailant drove a car at people outside a synagogue in northern England on Thursday and then began stabbing people, killing two and wounding three in an attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.

The suspect was also believed to be dead after being shot by officers, but that couldn’t immediately be confirmed because of concerns he had an explosive on him, Greater Manchester Police said. A bomb disposal team was at the scene.

The incident took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.

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.

Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside their house and said there had been a “terrorist attack.”

A witness told her that she saw a car driving erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship.

“She thought maybe he had a heart attack,” Lewin said. “The second he got out of the car he started stabbing anyone near him. He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.”