Two people have been killed and four wounded when a man ploughed a car into a crowd outside a packed Manchester synagogue on a sombre Jewish holiday and then embarked on a stabbing spree, UK police said.

Police said they shot dead the suspect and arrested two other people within hours of the attack which occurred as Jewish communities around the world marked Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday in the Jewish calendar.

The two dead victims were Jewish, police in the northwest English city confirmed, as London counter-terror police declared it a “terrorist incident”. Four other people were seriously wounded.

The dead suspect’s identity had been “established” but the counter-terror police, who are leading the investigation, said it was too soon to release it publicly.

The attacker wore a “vest which had the appearance of an explosive device” but Greater Manchester Police (GMP) revealed Thursday evening (local time) it was not viable.

“It’s a very sad day. I live here for like seven years. I’ve seen nothing but kindness and love from the Jewish community. Very, very good people,” engineer Sam Martin, 41, told AFP.

A video of the shocking moment the suspect is confronted by armed police is circulating online.

Officers urgently tell members of the public to move away as they spot a suspected explosive device on the man.

“Get back, he has a bomb!” officers are heard yelling as they cover the man with their rifles.

The suspect was seen trying to get into the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall suburb of Manchester, England.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who left a European political summit in Denmark early to chair an emergency response meeting in London, announced security was being boosted at UK synagogues.

Addressing Jewish communities directly in a televised statement shortly after the meeting, he vowed to “do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve”.

He said while antisemitism was not new, “we must be clear it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again”.

It was one of the worst antisemitic attacks in Europe since the October 7, 2023 Hamas militants’ assault on Israel, which sparked the Gaza war.

Counter-terror probe 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned it as a “barbaric attack,” adding “Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK”.

GMP said it was alerted shortly after 9.30am (local time) that a car had driven into people outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue and a security guard had been attacked with a knife.

Members of the public react as they gather near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue following a stabbing and car attack on Yom Kippur. Photo / Getty Images 

Chief constable Stephen Watson confirmed later that “two members of our Jewish community have sadly died” while officers had shot dead the attacker within seven minutes of the first emergency call.

Four other people remained in hospital with “serious injuries,” he said.

“The driver of the car was seen then to attack people with a knife” while wearing the fake explosives vest.

Armed police and emergency responders gather near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue after a stabbing and car attack on Yom Kippur. Photo / Getty Images 

But police praised the swift action of people who reported the attack, saying it had stopped the suspect from entering the synagogue.

A witness told BBC Radio he saw police shooting a man after a car crash.

“They give him a couple of warnings, he didn’t listen until they opened fire,” the witness said.

King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas were among the world leaders to condemn the attack.

“Houses of worship are sacred places where people can go to find peace,” Guterres said.

“Targeting a synagogue on Yom Kippur is particularly heinous.”

Members of the public and congregants seen as Police and other emergency responders attend the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue. Photo / Getty Images 

‘Rampant’ antisemitism

The attack came days before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel which sparked a fierce offensive in Gaza, inflamed passions in Britain and sparked frictions between the British and Israeli governments.

But supporters of the banned Palestine Action group said they would go ahead with a rally on Saturday as planned despite a plea from the Metropolitan Police to postpone the event.

Reacting to the attack, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar accused UK authorities of failing to curb “rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement”.

“We expect more than words from the Starmer government. We expect and demand a change of course, effective action,” he added.

Manchester, famous around the world for its two Premier League football clubs and industrial history, is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK.

It totalled more than 28,000 in 2021, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

The synagogue sits among quiet residential streets, with dozens of visibly distressed locals lining the police cordons on Thursday.

The city has witnessed several deadly terror attacks, notably in 2017 when Salman Abedi detonated a homemade suicide bomb outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds.

– Akshata Kapoor with Peter Hutchison and Helen Rowe in London, Agence France-Presse