Police have named the man responsible for a deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue on Thursday as Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent.
The attack left two Jewish worshippers dead and three others injured during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said Al-Shamie drove his car at people gathered outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester.
He then left the vehicle and began stabbing bystanders with a knife.
Police officers shot him dead at the scene within minutes of the attack.
Authorities quickly declared the incident a terrorist act.
The incident sparked outrage on social media, with one X user posting, “His first name [is] ‘Jihad’ … There is your problem. He is not British on any level. Deport these thugs.”
The Washington Eye reported that Al-Shamie “entered Britain as a child and gained citizenship in 2006. Authorities say he was not on their radar.”
Another X user, responding to a tweet from The News Agents, said, “An Islamist terrorist literally named Jihad goes on a murderous stabbing spree at a synagogue and the issue is…right wingers. They do the Norm MacDonald meme every time.
Someone else mockingly posted, “Shame on those rushing to speculate if the attacker was named ‘Mohammed’ – you’re wrong. His name is in fact Jihad.”
GMP confirmed that three other individuals—two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s—were arrested on suspicion of preparing, instigating or committing acts of terrorism.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack and pledged increased security at synagogues across the United Kingdom.
“Additional police assets” would be deployed immediately, he said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that “high visibility” patrols would also be stepped up around synagogues in the capital.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis described the attack as the “tragic result” of what he called an “unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, campuses, on social media and elsewhere.”
He said, “This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come.”
The BBC noted in its report that according to police, the injured included one man who was stabbed, another struck by the car and a third who later went to hospital with an injury possibly sustained during the police intervention.
GMP confirmed that none of the injuries occurred inside the synagogue itself.
Investigators reported that the suspect wore what appeared to be a suicide vest. However, explosives specialists later determined that the device was a dummy and not a viable explosive.
GMP said there had been no prior Prevent referrals for Al-Shamie, referring to the government’s anti-radicalisation program.
Officials said Al-Shamie entered the United Kingdom as a child and was granted British citizenship in 2006. He was not previously flagged by counterterrorism authorities.
Police received the first emergency call at 9:31 a.m. Thursday morning, reporting that a vehicle had been driven at pedestrians near the synagogue.
A major incident was declared almost immediately.
Eyewitnesses said synagogue security prevented Al-Shamie from entering the building.
Video footage from the scene showed armed police pointing weapons at a man on the ground while warning bystanders to move back, shouting that he had “a bomb on him.”
At 9:38 a.m., just seven minutes after the first emergency call, police shot the suspect as he attempted to stand up.
The rapid response drew praise from Prime Minister Starmer, who credited officers, synagogue security, and Rabbi Daniel Walker for preventing an even greater tragedy.
Rabbi Walker, who was leading the Yom Kippur service, helped guide congregants to safety and barricaded the synagogue doors.
A woman who lives next to the synagogue told the Daily Mail that as soon as the attacker left his vehicle, “he started stabbing anyone near him.”
She added: “Rabbi Walker was incredibly calm, he shut the doors to the synagogue to stop him getting inside. He barricaded everyone inside. He is a hero, this could have been even worse.”
