Terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie, who carried out the deadly attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, was on police bail for an alleged rape at the time of the incident. Witnesses said he shouted, “This is what they get for killing our children,” as he tried to force his way inside the synagogue during Thursday’s Yom Kippur service.
Two men, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, both from Crumpsall, were killed while attempting to prevent Al-Shamie from entering. Armed police, who arrived within seven minutes of the first emergency call, shot Al-Shamie dead. In the chaos, officers also accidentally shot Daulby and another bystander, the latter surviving.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed three more people remain in hospital, including a security guard and a Community Security Trust worker. Six individuals have been arrested as part of ongoing investigations into Al-Shamie’s background.
Authorities later confirmed that a device strapped to Al-Shamie’s torso was fake and said he may have been influenced by extremist Islamist ideology. Police watchdogs have since opened an inquiry into whether officers’ use of lethal force contributed to Daulby’s death.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who attended a vigil with other senior officials, urged planned protests in Manchester and London to be cancelled or postponed out of respect for the grieving Jewish community, calling this “a moment of mourning, not a time to stoke tension.” Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was heckled at the vigil, while Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was pressed by Israel’s foreign minister to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Tributes poured in for the victims. Daulby’s family described him as “a hero who tragically lost his life in the act of courage to save others,” while Cravitz’s family remembered him as “kind, caring, and devoted to his wife and family.”
Al-Shamie’s relatives publicly condemned his actions, distancing themselves from the attack. However, past social media posts by his father, Faraj Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon, revealed support for Hamas and praise for Iranian missile strikes on Israeli cities.
Alan Levy, chairman of trustees at the synagogue, recalled barricading the doors with other congregants as Al-Shamie attempted to smash his way inside: “He had a big knife, banging it into the glass, trying to get through. He couldn’t because we were holding the doors firm.”
The attack, one of the deadliest antisemitic incidents in recent UK history, has intensified debate over security, extremism, and ongoing protests tied to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
