A somber revelation has emerged from the tragic vehicle and knife attack at a British synagogue: one of the two men who died was accidentally killed by police gunfire, officials confirmed on Friday.
The two victims, identified as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, succumbed to injuries sustained during the Thursday morning assault at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation. Authorities have officially declared the incident a terrorist attack.
While police did not immediately specify which of the deceased victims had been struck by their own officers, they noted that another individual also suffered a gunshot wound but survived. According to a police statement, the victims were standing close together behind the synagogue door as worshippers courageously attempted to prevent the attacker from gaining entry.
On Friday morning, Chief Constable Stephen Watson of Greater Manchester Police announced that a pathologist’s report indicated one of the victims who died had suffered a wound consistent with a gunshot injury.
He further clarified in a statement that Jihad al-Shamie, the perpetrator of the attack, was not armed with a firearm. The only shots fired during the incident came from the armed police officers who were responding.
Mr. Watson expressed profound regret, stating: “It follows therefore, that subject to further forensic examination, this injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end.”
Mr. al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, was also fatally shot by police at the scene.
Occurring on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, the attack has intensified global concerns about the safety of Jewish communities amid a rising wave of antisemitism. British authorities have unequivocally condemned it as an act of terrorism.
Faraj al-Shamie, the attacker’s father, released a family statement on his Facebook page Friday morning, expressing profound shock and condemning the attack.
The statement read: “The Al-Shamie family in the U.K. and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians.”
“We fully distance ourselves from this attack and express our deep shock and sorrow over what has happened. Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we pray for their strength and comfort,” the statement concluded.
Although police have not formally commented on the assailant’s motives, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in an address to the nation on Thursday night, asserted that the man had “attacked Jews because they are Jews.”
Mr. Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, emphasized that while antisemitism is not a new phenomenon, “it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again.” He was photographed meeting police officers during his visit to the scene on Friday.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood informed the BBC on Friday morning that the attacker had arrived in Britain as a child with his family and obtained British citizenship in 2006.
In a separate interview with Times Radio, Ms. Mahmood confirmed that the assailant “was not known to counterterror police.”
Mr. al-Shamie was not under active investigation by security services nor had he been flagged as a “subject of interest” in their systems. However, intelligence officials have indicated they are not ruling out the possibility of discovering connections to other individuals on their watch list.
Officers were conducting searches at his family’s home in Prestwich, a Manchester suburb approximately two miles from the attack site, as well as another residence a short distance from the synagogue.
On Thursday, police announced the arrest of three individuals suspected of involvement in the commission, preparation, and instigation of acts of terrorism. The suspects, two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s, were being held in custody, though their names were not released.
Authorities confirmed that extra patrols were deployed across Manchester to reassure communities, maintaining a “high visibility presence” particularly around synagogues.
Numerous international politicians voiced their horror at the events. Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, offered condolences to the victims and their families in a statement condemning the “heinous attack.”
He added, “No one should ever feel unsafe in their home or at their place of worship. Violence against civilians must be condemned without hesitation or exception.”