LONDON — A minimum of two individuals have been killed when a person drove a car towards a crowd of individuals and launched a stabbing assault close to a synagogue in Manchester, a northern British metropolis, on Thursday, in keeping with police.
A 3rd individual, who police mentioned was “a person believed to be the offender,” was shot by responding law enforcement officials and is believed to have additionally died.
The suspect’s demise “can’t at the moment be confirmed resulting from issues of safety encompass suspicious objects on his individual,” police mentioned in an announcement. “The bomb disposal unit has been known as and is now on the scene.”
A minimum of three different individuals have been injured and “stay in a critical situation,” police mentioned.
The incident occurred outdoors the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in a northern suburb of the town on Thursday morning, regulation enforcement mentioned.
Emergency personnel work in a cordon on Middleton Highway following an incident outdoors a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, Oct. 2, 2025.
Phil Noble/Reuters
Police reported “accidents brought on by each the car and stab wounds.” A member of the general public advised responding officers “he had witnessed a automobile being pushed in the direction of members of the general public,” together with a person being stabbed, police mentioned.
Firearms officers responded to the decision, police mentioned.
Police mentioned they’d declared a significant incident, together with a “PLATO” designation, a regulation enforcement shorthand which means the incident was being handled as a possible marauding terrorist assault.
Emergency providers on the scene of a stabbing incident at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue, in Crumpsall, Manchester, England, Thursday Oct. 2, 2025.
Peter Byrne/AP
Thursday is Yom Kippur, which is taken into account the holiest day of the yr in Judaism.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned in a submit to X that he was “appalled by the assault at a synagogue in Crumpsall.”
“The truth that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day within the Jewish calendar, makes it all of the extra horrific,” the prime minister added.
A police officer stands on responsibility at a cordon close to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following studies of a stabbing.
Paul Currie/AFP through Getty Photographs
“My ideas are with the family members of all these affected, and my thanks go to the emergency providers and all the primary responders,” Starmer wrote.
Starmer was in Copenhagen, Denmark, for a summit with European leaders when the incident occurred.
Talking to reporters, the prime minister mentioned he was returning to the U.Okay. and could be chairing an emergency “COBRA” assembly — a gathering of senior officers to debate and reply to nationwide emergencies.
Starmer additionally mentioned that further police are being deployed to synagogues throughout the nation. “We’ll do all the things to maintain our Jewish neighborhood secure,” he added.
The web site of the synagogue the place the incident occurred listed Yom Kippur-related occasions for each Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Armed law enforcement officials discuss with members of the neighborhood close to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025.
Paul Currie/AFP through Getty Photographs
London Mayor Sadiq Khan mentioned in a submit to X he was “horrified by the violent assault at a synagogue in Manchester.”
Khan mentioned he had spoken along with his counterpart in Manchester and Dwelling Secretary Shabana Mahmood, “and want to reassure Londoners that the Met Police are stepping up patrols in Jewish communities and synagogues throughout London.”
King Charles III and his spouse, Queen Camilla, mentioned in an announcement they have been “deeply shocked and saddened to be taught of the horrific assault in Manchester, particularly on such a major day for the Jewish neighborhood.”
“Our ideas and prayers are with all these affected by this appalling incident and we enormously admire the swift actions of the emergency providers,” the assertion mentioned.
ABC Information’ Victoria Beaule and Zoe Magee contributed to this report.
