A man drove a car into people and stabbed them outside a synagogue in northwest England on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, killing two people in what appeared to be the deadliest antisemitic attack of recent times.
The attacker, a 35-year-old British man of Syrian descent, was shot and killed by police. Police have called his actions a terrorist attack.
The attack occurred as antisemitic acts have escalated with 2024 being the second highest years for attacks in modern times. The Jewish charity which advises communities on security said the Hamas attack and subsequent war had helped fuel thousands of incidents, including cases of violent attacks and threats.
Hours after the incident, two cars drove past with Palestinian flags in the back and some men turned up in balaclavas where they could be heard muttering “Jews”, Reuters reported.
“A hate-filled knifeman unleashed terror at a synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar,” headlined UK paper Metro. The paper cited eyewitness testimonies describing the man as acting like a “robot” before approaching the synagogue.
The paper also noted the “heroic” act of Rabbi Daniel Walker, reporting that he and others managed to barricade the doors and stop the suspected attacker from entering the synagogue.
Police praised the “quick response” of the witness as well as the “bravery” of security personnel and those inside the synagogue for helping to prevent the suspect from entering the synagogue.
Three people were hospitalized in serious condition, officials said. One person sustained a stab wound while a second was struck by the car driven by the attacker.
A third person arrived at a hospital with an injury that may have been sustained as officers stopped the attacker. The injuries and condition of a fourth person taken to the hospital were not available.
Police said the suspect was killed after being shot by firearms officers, just seven minutes after they had been called to the incident at the synagogue.
Police said late Thursday they believed the man responsible for the attack was a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent named Jihad Al-Shamie.
He did not immediately appear to be part of a U.K. counterterror program that tries to identify people at risk for being radicalized.
Britain is home to almost 290,000 Jews according to the last census in 2021.
