UK police say 2 victims have died and 3 others are in serious condition after synagogue attack

LONDON (AP) — Police said two people were killed and three others were seriously wounded in a synagogue attack in northern England.

The suspect was also believed to be dead, Greater Manchester Police said.

Police bomb experts were investigating whether the attacker had an explosive device.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

LONDON (AP) — Police said Thursday that four people have been injured after a car was driven at members of the public and a man was stabbed outside a synagogue the English city of Manchester.

The incident, which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is said to be over after a man, believed to be the offender, was shot by police.

“It is believed that the offender is deceased, although it’s not confirmed,” said the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, he said that as a result, a “degree of reassurance can be given that it’s not a developing, an ongoing, incident.”

In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public, who said he had witnessed a car being driven toward members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.

It said that minutes later shots were fired by firearms officers.

“One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.

It said four people were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.

Police said it had “declared Plato,” the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.” That does not mean it has been declared a terrorist incident.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.

He was flying home early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.

“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.

Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the U.K., 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,” he said.

He said there is “always a significant security operation in place” between police and the trust across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals.

Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.