UK police respond to stabbing 'attack,' shoot suspect near Manchester synagogue
A vehicle was driven toward a crowd of people and a man was stabbed near a synagogue in Manchester, a northern British city, police said.
"One man has been shot, believed to be the offender," the Greater Manchester Police said on social media.
The incident occurred outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in a northern suburb of the city on Thursday morning, law enforcement said.
Police said at least four people had been injured, "with 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 the major incident, along with a "PLATO" designation, a law enforcement shorthand that means the incident was being treated as a potential marauding terrorist attack.
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.
"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.
The website of the synagogue where the incident occurred listed Yom Kippur-related events for both Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
em>This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
