LONDON — At least two people were killed when a man drove a vehicle toward a crowd of people and launched a stabbing attack near a synagogue in Manchester, a northern British city, on Thursday, according to police.
A third person, who police said was “a man believed to be the offender,” was shot by responding police officers and is believed to have also died.
The suspect’s death “cannot currently be confirmed due to safety issues surround suspicious items on his person,” police said in a statement. “The bomb disposal unit has been called and is now at the scene.”
At least three other people were injured and “remain in a serious condition,” police said.
The incident occurred outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in a northern suburb of the city on Thursday morning, law enforcement said.
Emergency personnel work in a cordon on Middleton Road following an incident outside a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, Oct. 2, 2025.
Phil Noble/Reuters
Police reported “injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.” A member of the public told responding officers “he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public,” along with a man being stabbed, police said.
Firearms officers responded to the call, police said.
Police said they had declared a major incident, along with a “PLATO” designation, a law enforcement shorthand that means the incident was being treated as a potential marauding terrorist attack.
Emergency services at 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 considered the holiest day of the year in Judaism.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post to X that he was “appalled by the attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall.”
“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” the prime minister added.
A police officer stands on duty at a cordon near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following reports of a stabbing.
Paul Currie/AFP via Getty Images
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services and all the first responders,” Starmer wrote.
Starmer was in Copenhagen, Denmark, for a summit with European leaders when the incident occurred.
Speaking to reporters, the prime minister said he was returning to the U.K. and would be chairing an emergency “COBRA” meeting — a gathering of senior officials to discuss and respond to national emergencies.
Starmer also said that additional police are being deployed to synagogues across the country. “We will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe,” he added.
The website of the synagogue where the incident occurred listed Yom Kippur-related events for both Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a post to X he was “horrified by the violent attack at a synagogue in Manchester.”
Khan said he had spoken with his counterpart in Manchester and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, “and would like to reassure Londoners that the Met Police are stepping up patrols in Jewish communities and synagogues across London.”
ABC News’ Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.
