Manchester synagogue attack (vehicle-ramming and stabbing)

On 02 October 2025, the morning of Yom Kippur, an attacker drove a car into people outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, then got out and stabbed worshippers as they gathered for the holiest day of the Jewish year. According to Counter Terrorism Policing, the assault began shortly after 9:30 am, and worshippers acted to bar the synagogue doors and prevent the attacker from forcing his way inside.

Two members of the congregation were killed: Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53. Three other men were seriously wounded. Armed police arrived within minutes and shot the attacker dead at the scene; Counter Terrorism Policing said he advanced toward officers carrying a knife and appearing to wear what looked like an explosive belt, which was later assessed.

Police subsequently disclosed that one of the two dead victims, and one of the wounded, appear to have been struck by police gunfire. Greater Manchester Police and reporting by PBS NewsHour stated that because the attacker carried no firearm, a victim's gunshot injury may have been a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the armed response. The victim shot was Adrian Daulby, who was killed while helping hold the doors shut.

The incident was declared a terrorist attack the same day. The attacker was named as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen born in Syria who lived in nearby Prestwich. Counter Terrorism Policing said he called 999 during the attack to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group, and that he had not previously been known to counter-terrorism police.

This was an act of domestic terrorism aimed at Jews on Yom Kippur, not Russian or state-directed hybrid sabotage, and it sits outside Sabotage Watch's usual focus on state-linked operations against Western infrastructure. Police attribute it to an Islamist-inspired lone attacker who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group; investigators caution that the full motive and any outside support remain under examination. A notable and confirmed finding is that one fatality, Adrian Daulby, was struck by police gunfire during the armed response, a point officials acknowledged publicly.