Deadly Yom Kippur attack: Who is Jihad Al-Shamie?

International

THE mystery of Thursday’s synagogue attacker has ended.

Greater Manchester Police identified him as Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a British man of Syrian descent who killed two worshippers outside a Manchester synagogue before being shot dead by officers.

Three others were injured in the assault, which took place on Yom Kippur and has been declared a terrorist incident.

Police received reports at 09:31 of a vehicle driving into members of the public outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall.

Al-Shamie then tried to enter the building but was stopped by security staff, according to eyewitnesses. Video footage shows armed officers confronting the suspect, warning bystanders he appeared to be wearing a suicide vest. At 09:38, seven minutes after the first call, officers shot Al-Shamie as he tried to get up. The vest was later found to be a hoax.

Three people were injured: one stabbed, another struck by the vehicle, and a third possibly during police intervention.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that two men in their 30s and a woman in their 60s have been arrested on suspicion of preparing or instigating acts of terrorism.

Al-Shamie entered the UK as a child and was granted citizenship in 2006. Authorities said he had not been referred to Prevent, the government’s anti-radicalisation programme.

In a BBC report, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “terrorist” and “antisemitic,” noting the suspect targeted Jews specifically.

He promised a more visible police presence to protect communities and said the UK’s values of compassion, decency, and love would guide the response. Starmer announced additional police would be deployed to synagogues nationwide, while

London Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed increased security in the capital.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called the attack a tragic result of persistent Jew hatred across society, including campuses and social media, and said the Jewish community had long feared such violence.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described it as a horrific antisemitic assault and vowed the city would never stand aside when communities are targeted.

Rabbi Daniel Walker, leading Yom Kippur prayers at the time, guided worshippers to safety and quickly barricaded the synagogue doors, preventing further casualties.

A neighbor described Walker’s actions as heroic.

GMP Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson praised the swift response of both synagogue security and police, which prevented the attacker from gaining access.

Robin Simcox, the government’s Commissioner for Countering Extremism, said the hoax vest suggested the attack was Islamist in nature and warned that Jews in the UK increasingly feel unsafe.(MyTVCebu)