Pictures show police at scene

11 hours ago

BBC Perpetrator of attack in Manchester was taken from just outside the perimeter fence

Two people died and four are in hospital after a man drove a car at members of the public before stabbing people outside a synagogue in Manchester.

The attack has been declared a terrorist incident by the head of national counter-terror policing. Four people remain in hospital with serious injuries.

Police say the attacker was stopped from entering the synagogue by security staff and worshippers at 09:31 BST on Thursday. He was shot dead by police at the scene.

An image taken near the scene shows a man believed to be the suspect with items around his waist.

Footage, verified by the BBC, then shows police trying to get members of the public away from the suspect.

It appears to show the moment police opened fire.

Images then show two armed officers standing pointing their weapons at a figure lying prone on the ground.

GMP firearms officers and the suspect, who has been shot, outside the synagogue in Manchester

The body of the attacker was examined by bomb disposal technicians.

On the right-hand side, a bomb disposal robot can be seen. A knife is nearby, as well as items that were thought to have been strapped to the attacker’s waist.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) later confirmed that the device the suspect was wearing during the synagogue attack was “not viable”.

Hannah McKay/REUTERS A bomb disposal technician works by the body of a man, believed to be the attacker, at the scene, after a report of an incident in which a car was driven at pedestrians and a stabbing attack outside a synagogue, in north Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2025.

The site has since been cordoned off, with police, fire and ambulance services present and helicopters overhead.

Members of the Jewish community and the wider public were seen gathering around the scene soon after the attack.

Ryan Jenkinson/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock Police and first responders can be seen on the scene of a reported stabbing at a synagogue in Manchester.

Paul Currie / AFP A helicopter flies over a residential house near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 20250

Oli SCARFF/AFP Members of the local community stand by a police cordon near to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025

Emergency services evacuated members of the local community near the synagogue.

Police advised people to avoid the area during the incident.

PAUL CURRIE/AFP Members of the emergency services evacuate members of the community near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following a "major incident" at the synagogue.

PA Media An armed police officer at the scene of an incident at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester

The Jewish community have been comforting each other near the scene. They had been celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

Speaking after the attack, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the individual “attacked Jews because they are Jews and attacked Britain because of our values”.