MANCHESTER, England - Two men were killed on Thursday when a man drove a car into pedestrians and stabbed a security guard in an attack at a synagogue where worshippers were marking Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, British police said.

Greater Manchester Police said the man who carried out the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall district of the city in northern England was believed to be Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent.

The suspect, who was wearing what appeared to be a vest with an explosive device, was shot dead at the scene by armed officers.

Manchester attack declared terrorist incident

A video shared on social media and verified by Reuters showed police officers shooting a man inside the synagogue’s perimeter, while another man lay on the floor in a pool of blood, appearing to wear a traditional Jewish head covering.

"He has a bomb, go away!" an armed police officer shouted to onlookers, just seconds before a gunshot rang out.

Neighbor Angela Crawshaw told Reuters she had seen three policemen aiming guns at a man in the car park of the synagogue, telling him: "Stay down, don't move or we'll shoot."

"Then they did shoot, and he fell to the floor. Then he tried getting up again and moving again, and they shot him again. And then it was just panic," she said.

A bomb disposal unit was later called to the scene, but police confirmed the device that the suspect was wearing was not viable.

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Police said they were working to understand the motivation behind the attack, and said they could find no records that the suspect had been referred previously to the country's counter-radicalisation scheme, Prevent.

Britain's most senior counterterrorism officer, Laurence Taylor, said it had been declared a terrorist incident.

Two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s have been arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism.

"Communities across the UK who would normally be marking this holy day are now grieving, and worried about their safety," Taylor told reporters. "I want to be clear: UK policing is mobilizing. And mobilizing fast."

Starmer promises security to Jewish community

Antisemitism has soared to record levels in Britain since the Oct 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel's subsequent conflict in Gaza.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who rushed away early from a European summit in Copenhagen to chair an emergency meeting in London, promised to do everything he could to provide security to the Jewish community and deployed more police to synagogues.

"We must be clear, it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again," he said.

"To every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you, I really do. And so on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears."

But Gideon Saar, the foreign minister of Israel, which has criticized Britain for its recent decision to recognize a Palestinian state, said authorities had failed to curb antisemitism and "effectively allowed it to persist".

"The truth must be told: blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement, as well as calls of support for terror, have recently become a widespread phenomenon in the streets of London, in cities across Britain, and on its campuses," Saar said on X.

"We expect more than words from the Starmer government."

Three others in serious condition

As well as the suspect and two members of the public who were confirmed dead, three other people were in hospital in a serious condition.

After the attack, police were seen ushering about 30 mostly Jewish elderly men - some in tears, many looking shocked - and some young children away from the synagogue. Some were wearing white robes, others were in suits and wearing a skullcap.

"Thanks to the immediate bravery of security staff and the worshippers inside, as well as the fast response of police, the attacker was prevented from gaining access," said Greater Manchester Police's Chief Constable Stephen Watson.

King Charles said he was "deeply shocked and saddened".

Suspect was 'stabbing anyone near him'

Another neighbor by the synagogue, Chava Lewin, said the attacker had gone for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.

"The second he got out of the car he started stabbing anyone near him," she told British media.

Yom Kippur is the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar, when even many non-regular synagogue-goers take time to pray and all road traffic stops in Israel.

Britain reported its second worst year in modern times for antisemitism in 2024 with more than 3,500 incidents being recorded, the Community Security Trust, which provides security to Jewish organisations across Britain, said earlier this year.

"This attack was sadly something we feared was coming," the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a joint statement.

Attacks on Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since the Gaza conflict erupted, including in France and Germany where incidents have surged. French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that France stood beside Britain's Jewish community.

Since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the US, Britain has suffered a number of Islamist militant attacks, with the worst being the July 2005 suicide bombings in the London transport network which killed 52 people.

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More recently, a 2017 suicide bomb attackat the end of an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester killed 22 people and injured hundreds. British police and security services say 43 late-stage attack plots have been thwarted since March 2017.

British police have in recent years also warned about the threat from organized far-right terrorism.