In a shocking act of antisemitic violence, two Jewish worshippers were killed and four others seriously injured when a man rammed a car into a crowd outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, before stabbing victims, including the security guard.
The attack unfolded at 9:31 a.m. BST during Yom Kippur services, Judaism's holiest day of atonement and fasting.
Police shot dead the suspect within seven minutes, after he donned a fake explosive vest. Greater Manchester Police declared it a terrorist incident, praising the "immediate bravery" of congregants and staff who locked doors to prevent entry. Two arrests followed.
The assault came just 11 days after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's September 21 announcement recognizing Palestine as a state, a move Israel decried as a "reward for terrorism" post-October 7, 2023.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu linked it to the attack, posting on X: "As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism."
Starmer, rushing home from a Copenhagen summit to chair a Cobra emergency meeting, condemned the "vile individual" who "committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews."
Addressing Britain's Jewish community, he vowed: "I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence." He urged defeating the "rising tide" of antisemitism, amid a 4,296% surge in incidents since the Gaza war.
King Charles III called it "horrific," while Rabbi Daniel Walker credited calm leadership for averting worse carnage. Security ramps up nationwide as Manchester mourns.