What we know about Manchester synagogue attack

October 2, 2025, 06:59 PM

What we know about Manchester synagogue attack

International Desk

Two people have died in a car ramming and stabbing attack at a synagogue in Manchester, with the suspect shot by police.

The incident came on Yom Kippur - the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

Here is what we know so far.

What happened?
Police responded at 09:31 BST on Thursday to reports of a car driving towards members of the public, and a man stabbed. The man who was stabbed is believed to be a security guard.

The incident happened at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area in Manchester‍‍`s north. It is an area with a large Jewish community, about 4 miles (6km) from the city centre.

Follow live updates on this story
By 09:37, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had declared a major incident.

Police say they fired shots at 09:38 and one man, believed to be the offender, was shot.

He is believed to be dead, police say.

The North West Ambulance Service confirmed that a major incident had been declared and that it had deployed staff to the scene.

An eyewitness called Gareth, who was driving his delivery van near the scene, told the BBC he saw a man "bleeding out on the floor".

Gareth said he saw another man "laying on the floor" in front of a car, and he could hear people shouting.

He said he saw another person, a man, with a knife "stabbing the window" of a nearby building "trying to get in".

"Within seconds, the police arrived, they gave him a couple of warnings, he didn‍‍`t listen so they opened fire," he explained, saying the man holding the knife then went down on the floor.

He then "started getting back up and they

shot him again", Gareth said - describing it as "nerve-racking" to see.

Archive