Manchester Synagogue Terror Attack: Assailant Identified as Syrian-British Man

UK Police Identify Suspect in Heaton Park Synagogue Terror Attack in Manchester: 35-Year-Old Syrian-British Man Believed to Be a Jihadist

UK police have released the identity of the suspect in the terror attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. The suspect is Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, and he is believed to be a jihadist.

On the morning of October 2, police received a report that a car had rammed into pedestrians and the synagogue’s entrance outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in the Crumpsall area. The attacker then got out of the vehicle and carried out random stabbings on nearby people, leaving two men dead and three others seriously injured.

Armed police rushed to the scene and shot Jihad Al-Shamie dead on the spot. Police noted that Al-Shamie was wearing a vest that appeared to contain an explosive device at the time of the incident, but subsequent checks confirmed the vest had no such functionality.

Currently, police have arrested three suspects: two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s. All three have been detained on suspicion of committing, planning, and abetting terrorist acts. Police are still investigating the motives of those involved, and details of the case remain to be further clarified.

In a video address, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that hatred against Jews is escalating. He vowed to do everything possible to protect the safety of Britain’s Jewish community, promising to increase police presence around synagogues to reassure the community.

Separately, Manchester Police stated on Friday that since the suspect was not in possession of a gun, one of the two deceased victims may have been hit by police gunfire, and one hospitalized victim also suffered a gunshot wound.

This is one of the most serious terrorist attacks in the UK in recent years. Occurring as Jewish worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), it has caused profound shock within Britain’s Jewish community.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said that anti-Semitic incidents have been on the rise in recent years, and the community as a whole is in a state of heightened anxiety.

Since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have continued to increase. Last year, Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5 (the UK’s Security Service), warned that the Gaza conflict has implications for UK security, stating that “the situation in the Middle East could directly trigger the risk of terrorist attacks within the UK.”