Two people have died and a man has been shot by armed police after a car was driven at pedestrians and a person was stabbed in a suspected terror attack outside a synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Greater Manchester Police said three others are in a serious condition following the attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, on Middleton Road in Crumpsall on Thursday morning.
The force confirmed a bomb disposal unit was sent to the scene after footage shared on social media appeared to show members of the public shouting to firearms officers that the suspect had a bomb strapped to him.
Greater Manchester Police were called to the incident where a man believed to be the offender was shot by firearms officers. Police said it had declared “Plato,” the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a marauding terror attack.
The reported stabbings come as members of the Jewish community observe Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and is a time when synagogues are usually particularly busy.
Dave Rich, of the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, said the day is similar to Christmas Day for Christians, but is a day of solemnity and fasting rather than celebration.
He said: “Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It’s a very solemn day and synagogues across the country will be full throughout the day. There’s always a significant security operation in place between police and CST across the Jewish community on all major Jewish festivals.”
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/four-injured-after-car-driven-at-people-and-man-stabbed-outside-synagogue-1813839.html
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