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1 week ago
Updated
Four people were injured Thursday in a vehicle ramming and stabbing outside a synagogue in Manchester, in northwestern England, the police said, and the suspect in the attack has been shot.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that he was “appalled” by the attack, adding that “the fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific.”
The police said the suspect did not gain access to the synagogue, Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, and that they could not immediately confirm the condition of the man or the people who were injured.
Footage taken by a witness and posted on Facebook showed two armed police officers with their rifles aimed at the suspected attacker on the ground outside the synagogue, as a severely injured victim lay nearby.
One of the officers told people at the synagogue gates to move back, shouting: “He has a bomb, go away.”Moments later, the suspected attacker appeared to be trying to get up and the police fired at least one shot. The man fell back to the ground.
The incident took place on Thursday morning, which is Yom Kippur — the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar, which sees large numbers of people attend synagogues.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, told the BBC that he was keeping the feelings of the city’s Jewish community in mind as the news of the attack spread.
“I can only imagine how people are feeling when they hear this news — that the fear that will bring,” he said. He added that he was impressed that police responded so swiftly and apparently shot the suspect within seven minutes of the first reports.
The Jewish community has “seen rising incidents of antisemitism over recent times,” Mr. Burnham said, “and have been living with a higher state of anxiety because of the times that we’re living in.”
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that they were called at 9:31 a.m. by a member of the public who said that “he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public, and one man had been stabbed.”
Armed police were sent to the scene and the suspect was shot at 9:38 a.m., the statement said.
Four members of the public suffered injuries caused by the vehicle and by stab wounds, the police statement said.
The North West Ambulance Service said it had declared a major incident and was responding at the scene.
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