Manchester synagogue terrorist with suspected suicide belt who killed at least two before being shot
By RORY TINGLE, and MARTIN ROBINSON, and JAMES FIELDING, and TOM LAWRENCE,
This is the 'terrorist' with a suspected suicide belt who killed at least two people outside a Manchester synagogue before being shot by police.
A car was driven into a crowd and a man stabbed at around 9.30am on Yom Kippur - the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Police said three other victims are in a serious condition after the attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall.
The suspect is also thought to be dead, but this will not be confirmed due to 'suspicious items on his person'.
Army bomb disposal soldiers are at the scene and at 12.45pm a small bang could be heard from near the synagogue, suspected to be a controlled explosion.
Worshippers are believed to have barricaded themselves inside the synagogue after the suspect crashed into the gate and began stabbing 'anyone and everyone'.
One witness described him moving from victim to victim in a 'robotic' manner 'like he had a job to do' - targeting 'anyone who was Jewish' and wearing a Kippur.
He then tried to force his way inside before being shot dead by armed police at 9.38am.
A senior security source, who for decades worked in armed policing, told the Daily Mail today that the man's suicide belt looked real.
Police said it had 'declared Plato' - the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a 'marauding terror attack'.
Video shared on social media appears to show armed police officers pointing guns at someone laying on the ground as one screams to onlookers: 'Everybody else, get back. If you're not involved, move back, get away... he has a bomb, go away.'
The person on the ground is seen starting to get up before there is the sound of a gunshot and he falls to the ground. Another person is also shown lying motionless on the ground outside the synagogue gates with blood around their head.
Police sources told the Mail it was 'too early' to determine the attacker's motivation.
Sir Keir Starmer said 'additional police assets' will be deployed at synagogues across the country following the attack.
The Prime Minister is set to fly home early from a meeting of European leaders in Denmark in order to chair a Cobra meeting following the incident.
He said he was 'appalled' at the attack, adding: 'The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific.'
The King said he and the Queen were 'deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horror, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community'.
Charles, in a message issued by Buckingham Palace, said his thoughts and prayers were with all those affected by 'this appalling incident' as he praised the 'swift actions' of the emergency services.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said one of the victims was a security guard who had been stabbed.
Worshippers were inside at the time of the attack, with a witness describing seeing a man 'stabbing at a window' in an apparent attempt to get inside.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: 'Police were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, on Middleton Road, Crumpsall, at 9.31am by a member of the public, stating he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and one man had been stabbed.'
The force said it declared a major incident at 9.37am.
The statement continued: 'Shots were fired by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers at 9.38am. One man has been shot, believed to be the offender. Paramedics arrived at the scene at 9.41am and are tending to members of the public.
'We are grateful to the member of the public whose quick response to what they witnessed allowed our swift action, and as a result the offender was prevented from entering the synagogue.'
Salford Royal, Fairfield General, Rochdale Infirmary, and the Royal Oldham hospitals are all 'on lockdown' after the incident.
The suspected attacker wearing what is believed to be a suicide belt, with three terrified people staring through the windows
The suspect is also believed to be dead, but this will not be confirmed until a bomb disposal unit has dealt with a device that is believed to be strapped to his body
Footage shows a suspect lying on the ground outside the synagogue as armed police aim their guns at him. Moments later, the suspect begins trying to get up before bullets ring out
A Kia Picanto, which appeared to have been damaged by a collision, pictured at the scene today
A bomb disposal unit is at the scene alongside dozens of police vehicles and fire and ambulance crews
Police and ambulance crews near the cordon outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall
An armed police officer - his face covered by a mask - stands behind the cordon
Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation is a large Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogue, which was formally founded in 1935 and is headed by Rabbi Daniel Walker.
One witness has said the knifeman tried to force his way into the synagogue before he was shot by armed police.
Khurram Rafiq, who was driving past the Heaton Park Synagogue described how the silent attacker went from victim to victim in a 'robotic' manner like he 'had a job to do.'
Mr Rafiq, 35, a manager for a global tech firm, told the Mail: 'I was driving into work this morning and further down the road I saw a car which was on the same side as mine but several vehicles in front suddenly swerve out and drive into someone on the pavement.
'Initially I thought it was an accident and that the driver had lost control for whatever reason. But he then got out and stabbed the man who was lying on the ground.
'This happened directly outside the synagogue. The knifeman walked through the front gates and stabbed at least two other men.
'I would describe him as an Asian man and he was going for anyone who was Jewish, the men he stabbed were all wearing the Kippur.
'He was quiet, there was no shouting from what I could hear nor any religious slogans or chants, he was very robotic in his actions like he had a job to do and was just focused on doing it.
'The entrance to the synagogue was locked shut. I could see him trying to get in, he was banging on the door and at one point looked to try and kind of jimmy open the door.
'People were trying to distract him by throwing stuff like plant pots but nobody was going near him.
'That, I think, was because round his waist he had what looked like a belt containing explosives. Whether they were real or designed purely to intimidate and cause fear, I can't say.
'But the police were on the scene really quickly, armed police surrounded the synagogue.
'At first he looked to be complying but then two gun shots rang out. I got a little closer and there was a third gunshot which proved fatal. He slumped to the floor.
'The guy he'd hit with the car and stabbed first of all was lying motionless on the ground. There was a pool of blood by where he was lying and to me at that point he looked to have died from his injuries.
'There were people peering out of the synagogue windows and they were afraid for their lives.
'It was an incredibly frightening incident to witness and I'm still shaken up.'
The delivery driver, who gave his name as Gareth, told BBC Radio Manchester: 'We was just driving up the road, doing our normal deliveries.
Next minute, we were held back in a little bit of traffic, and we could see a car had crashed. So we just thought it were a normal collision.
'We got a big closer. We seen a guy bleeding out on the floor. He was just basically unconscious on the floor, presumed, obviously, dead. And then literally, there was [another] a guy in front of the car. He just lay on the floor. We couldn't really see him.
'And then there was a few people stood in the road. Somebody shouted something in the school or the synagogue, or what [ever] it was.
'And then, as we looked over, the guy had a knife, and he was just stabbing the window trying to get in the [synagogue].
'And then within seconds the police arrived. They gave him a couple of warnings. He didn't listen
Next minute, we were held back in a little bit of traffic, and we could see a car had crashed. So we just thought it were a normal collision.
'We got a big closer. We seen a guy bleeding out on the floor. He was just basically unconscious on the floor, presumed, obviously, dead. And then literally, there was [another] a guy in front of the car. He just lay on the floor. We couldn't really see him.
'And then there was a few people stood in the road. Somebody shouted something in the school or the synagogue, or what [ever] it was.
'And then, as we looked over, the guy had a knife, and he was just stabbing the window trying to get in the [synagogue].
'And then within seconds the police arrived. They gave him a couple of warnings. He didn't listehey opened fire. He went down on the floor, and then he started getting back up, and then they shot him again.'
The area around the synagogue was swamped by dozens of police vehicles, along with fire and ambulance crews, while the force helicopter hovered over-head shortly after the incident.
The surrounding streets were cordoned off with more police cars and vans, sirens blaring, racing down neighbouring roads.
A short distance away from the synagogue, police officers armed with Heckler & Koch machine guns stood guard at the head of a path, between houses, leading up to the back of the synagogue.
Members of the Jewish community have been gathering around the police cordon, with some of them in tears.
Immediately after the attack, one Jewish man said his wife and daughter and other members of the congregation were still inside the synagogue.
A number of black, unmarked police 4x4 vehicles and vans carrying plain clothes officers with face coverings were seen leaving the area of the incident at speed.
The Jewish man said: 'It is the holiest day of the year and we get this. There is no place for Jews in Britain anymore. It's over.'
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: 'I am horrified by the news of an attack at a synagogue in Manchester today, on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
'My first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services.'
Manchester has a Jewish population of more than 30,000, the highest in UK after London.
Kemi Badenoch described the incident as a 'vile and disgusting attack' and called for the 'rise in antisemitism that we're seeing in our country' to be 'quelled completely'.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'I am appalled not only by this brutal attack, but also by the evil that lies behind it.'
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he was 'horrified'.
A major incident and police have enacted 'Plato' - the national code-word used by the emergency services when responding to a 'marauding terror attack'
Fire and rescue crews are among those responding to the incident in Manchester
Members of the army unload a bomb disposal robot at the scene
The Prime Minister is returning from a meeting of European leaders to chair Cobra
The Prime Minister is returning from a meeting of European leaders to chair Cobra
Meanwhile, a rabbi described the attack as 'every Jewish person's worst nightmare'.
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, emeritus rabbi of Maidenhead Synagogue and current head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain, said he felt 'appalled' by what had happened,
'This is every Rabbi's or every Jewish person's worst nightmare,' he said.
'Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it's also a time of mass gathering, and the time when the Jewish community, however religious or irreligious, gathers together.'
He added: 'This will obviously heighten the fears that many Jews have had, that political violence would spill over into religious hatred.'
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said: 'Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible.'
Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and is a time when synagogues are usually particularly busy.
Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, said: 'Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year.
'It's a very solemn day and synagogues across the country will be full throughout the day.
'There's always a significant security operation in place between police and CST across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals.'
In terms of importance in the religious year he said it is similar to Christmas Day for Christians, but is a day of solemnity and fasting rather than celebration.
Greater Manchester Police
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