British man of Syrian descent named as Manchester synagogue attacker

LONDON - Britain’s counter-terrorism police named a British citizen of Syrian descent as the perpetrator of an attack on a synagogue that killed two people.

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, carried out the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester on the morning of Oct 2, according to statements from Counter Terrorism Policing and Greater Manchester Police.

Two men died and three others suffered serious injuries during the assault on the temple, where worshippers were gathering for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Police said the attacker drove a vehicle at people outside the synagogue and then attacked them with a knife, before being shot dead by officers. He wore a vest that police said had “the appearance of an explosive device”, but was later found not to be viable.

Al-Shamie entered the UK as a young child and was granted British citizenship in 2006 as a minor, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the killings “a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews”, speaking in a televised address after cutting short his attendance at a European summit in Copenhagen.

“While this is not a new hate – this is something Jews have always lived with – we must be clear, it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again,” the Premier said.

He attended a synagogue service in London in the evening of Oct 2 in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community.

Police arrested three people – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. 

The attack is the most serious terrorist incident in Britain in several years. While police said they were still working to understand the motivation, the security services and Britain’s Jewish community have been on alert for the past two years after a rise in incidents of anti-Semitism following Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli response in Gaza.

The incident will focus attention on Britain’s already strained community relations and its approach to combating terrorism and anti-Semitism.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled criticism of Mr Starmer, posting on social media: “Weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism.” Mr Netanyahu previously criticised Mr Starmer for his decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September.

Gaza fallout

In 2024, Mr Ken McCallum, director-general of the UK’s domestic security service MI5, warned that the conflict in Gaza had implications for security in Britain. “We are powerfully alive to the risk that events in the Middle East directly trigger terrorist action in the UK,” he said in a speech last October. 

Security officials have been concerned about a rising danger of terrorist attacks targeting Jews both immediately and over the longer term as radicalising effects of the Gaza war intensify.

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 UK’s political spectrum.

Ms 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”.

Officers were called to the incident at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area of Manchester just after 9.30am by a member of the public who said “he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public”, according to police.

Though there were a “large number of worshippers” at the synagogue, the bravery of security staff and fast police response prevented the attacker from accessing the building, he said. People were then confined inside the building until it was safe to leave, Greater Manchester police chief Stephen Watson said in a televised statement.

‘Rising incidents’

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

The Community Security Trust, a charity set up to protect British Jews, reported a surge in anti-Semitic incidents after the conflict in Gaza flared up. While numbers are lower in 2025 than 2024, 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 UK cities, including in Liverpool this week during the governing Labour Party’s annual conference, as well as in London on the night of Oct 2. The main opposition Conservative Party is due to hold its convention in Manchester this weekend.

Israel’s escalation of military operations in Gaza has resulted in increasing tensions within Mr Starmer’s administration which, while saying Israel has a right to self-defence, 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.

In 2024, the UK suspended some export licences to Israel, and in June, Britain sanctioned two Israeli government ministers who they said had incited violence against Palestinian communities. In September, Mr Starmer said the UK would recognise Palestinian statehood, after Israel’s government failed to heed his calls to de-escalate in Gaza. BLOOMBERG