UK synagogue attack kills 2, prompting Starmer crisis meeting

Alex Morales, William Standring, Bloomberg News on Oct 2, 2025

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At least two people were killed in a vehicle and knife attack on a synagogue in Manchester, causing U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to leave a European summit in Denmark early.

Starmer will host a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, known as Cobra, in response to the attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. On his way back to Britain from Copenhagen, Starmer said that additional officers were being deployed to synagogues across the country. Police are treating the incident as terrorism.

“We will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe,” he said, describing the attack as “shocking.”

At least two of the victims had died, while another three are in a “serious condition,” the Greater Manchester Police confirmed in a statement on the social media platform X. The suspected attacker was also believed to be deceased after officers fired shots, they said.

Police earlier said at least four members of the public were being treated by paramedics for stab wounds and injuries inflicted by a vehicle. Officers were called to the incident at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area of Manchester just after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public who stated that “he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public,” according to police.

The death of the suspected attacker “cannot currently be confirmed due to safety issues surround suspicious items on his person,” police said. A bomb disposal unit was called to the scene, and the sound of a controlled explosion could later be heard on footage aired by broadcasters.

Police said that a “large number” of people were worshiping at the synagogue at the time of the attack, adding that they had been held inside the building while the area was made safe, before being evacuated.

King Charles III issued a statement saying he was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the attack, and condemnation of the incident came from across the U.K.’s political spectrum. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, called it “vile and disgusting,” while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he was “horrified.” Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said he was “horrified and appalled.”

No details were immediately disclosed about the suspected offender, or his possible motives. Nevertheless, Britain’s Jewish community has been on alert for the past two years after a rise in incidents of antisemitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and the subsequent Israeli response in Gaza.

The Jewish community “have seen rising incidents of antisemitism over recent times and have been living with a higher state of anxiety because of the times that we’re living in,” Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told BBC Radio.

The Community Security Trust, a charity set up to protect British Jews, reported a surge in antisemitic incidents after the conflict in Gaza flared up, and while numbers are lower this year than last, they remain at a higher level than before the Hamas attack.

Amid a rising death toll in Gaza, pro-Palestinian protesters have held regular demonstrations in London and other major U.K. cities, including in Liverpool this week during the governing Labour Party’s annual conference. The main opposition Conservative Party is due to hold its convention in Manchester this weekend.

Israel’s escalation of military operations in Gaza have resulted in increasing tensions within Starmer’s administration, which while saying Israel has a right to self-defense, has increasingly questioned the proportionality of the Israeli response. The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 60,000 Palestinians have lost their lives during the Israeli campaign.

Last year, the U.K. suspended some export licenses to Israel and in June, Britain sanctioned two Israeli government ministers who they said had incited violence against Palestinian communities. Last month, Starmer said the U.K. would recognize Palestinian statehood, after Israel’s government failed to heed his calls to de-escalate in Gaza.

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(With assistance from Alex Wickham.)