Dramatic footage has today emerged showing the moment armed police shot a suspected knifeman following a ‘marauding terror attack’ at a synagogue.
At least two people have died after a man ‘armed with a bomb’ rammed a car into the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at 9.31am today.
The attack, which took place on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, has been declared a ‘Plato’ incident – the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a ‘marauding terror attack’.
Video footage, leaked on social media, has shown how police armed with assault rifles gunned down the male suspect.
Above the sound of car alarms ringing out, two officers were heard shouting at people inside the worship centre to ‘stay in, stay inside’, shortly after shooting the alleged attacker.
Then, as one officer yells at stunned witnesses to get away, the armed cops shockingly shouts: ‘He has a bomb, go away. Get back.’
The harrowing clip shows people scrambling to get away. As the camera pans around, a man is shown laying motionless on the floor in a pool of blood.
‘He’s got a bomb, get the f*** out of here,’ one man filming yells to another horrified witness. ‘He’s going to blow himself up, he’s trying to press the button.’
The video continues, showing the suspect lifting himself up from the floor before one armed officer appears to shoot the man, who is then seen writhing on the floor.
Footage shows a suspect lying on the ground outside the synagogue as armed police aim their guns at him. Moments later, the suspect begins trying to get up before bullets ring out
A car pictured at the scene today following the attack
It’s unclear if the suspect was armed with an explosive device. However, a bomb disposal unit is at the scene alongside dozens of police vehicles and fire and ambulance crews.
Three people are thought to be in a serious condition in hospital, authorities say. Two members of the public have so far died. The suspected knifeman is also believed to have died from his injuries.
Khurram Rafiq, who was driving past the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester this morning, said the silent attacker went from victim to victim in a ‘robotic’ manner like he ‘had a job to do.’
Mr Rafiq, 35, a manager for a global tech firm, told the Daily Mail: ‘I was driving into work this morning and further down the road I saw a car which was on the same side as mine but several vehicles in front suddenly swerve out and drive into someone on the pavement.
‘Initially I thought it was an accident and that the driver had lost control for whatever reason. But he then got out and stabbed the man who was lying on the ground.
‘This happened directly outside the synagogue. The knifeman walked through the front gates and stabbed at least two other men.
‘I would describe him as an Asian man and he was going for anyone who was Jewish, the men he stabbed were all wearing the kippur.
‘He was quiet, there was no shouting from what I could hear nor any religious slogans or chants, he was very robotic in his actions like he had a job to do and was just focused on doing it.
‘The entrance to the synagogue was locked shut. I could see him trying to get in, he was banging on the door and at one point looked to try and kind of jimmy open the door.
‘People were trying to distract him by throwing stuff like plant pots but nobody was going near him.
Pictured is the alleged knifeman outside the synagogue, which had been barricaded from the inside
Rabbi Daniel Walker (pictured right) leapt into action after the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue came under attack this morning
‘That, I think, was because round his waist he had what looked like a belt containing explosives. Whether they were real or designed purely to intimidate and cause fear, I can’t say.
‘But the police were on the scene really quickly, armed police surrounded the synagogue.
Images from the scene of the chaos show a number of emergency service personnel swarming the scene.
Paramedics and firefighters were pictured wearing bulletproof body armour, issued during the case of a terror attack.
It’s understood additional security has been set up around local hospitals.
Sir Keir Starmer, who will now fly home early from a meeting of European leaders to chair Cobra, said he was ‘appalled’, adding: ‘The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific.’
An eyewitness to the alleged terror attack has since spoken of the scene of carnage.
The man, called Gareth, was driving his delivery van at the time of the incident. He said he was held back in traffic and assumed it was a ‘normal collision’.
However, as he got closer, he saw a man ‘bleeding out on the floor’ before then seeing another male armed with a knife ‘stabbing the window’ of a nearby building ‘trying to get in’.
‘Within seconds, the police arrived, they gave him a couple of warnings, he didn’t listen so they opened fire,’ Gareth told BBC Radio Manchester.
Local resident Olivia Gold said she had friends who attend the synagogue. ‘It would have been very, very busy,’ she added.
Speaking of the incident, she said: ‘It’s just horrendous. We’re a quiet community, just leave us alone. We don’t want any of this.’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘I am horrified by the news of an attack at a synagogue in Manchester today, on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
‘My first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services.’
Kemi Badenoch described the incident as a ‘vile and disgusting attack’, with the Conservative leader telling BBC Radio Bristol: ‘It does look like an outrageous attack on the Jewish community on their holiest day, Yom Kippur.
‘I think it is a vile and disgusting attack. I know that many Jewish people in our country feel that they’re no longer safe and my heart goes out to the people who have been hurt by this, and everyone who’s been affected.’
While Chris Philp, shadow home secretary said, branded the attack ‘sickening’, adding: ‘I am appalled not only by this brutal attack, but also by the evil that lies behind it.’
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said one victim appeared to be a security guard who had been attacked with a knife. He said ‘it is believed’ the suspect was dead, but this has not been confirmed.
‘I can give some assurance that the immediate danger appears to be over,’ he added.
Police are at the scene on Middleton Road this morning, with the road closed between Wilton Road and Crumpsall Lane
Armed officers are seen at the scene following the alleged terror attack
Specialist fire service personnel, pictured wearing body armour, were also seen
Paramedics were also kitted out in ballistic vests
A short distance away from the synagogue in Crumpsall, police officers armed with Heckler & Koch assault rifles stood guard at the head of a path, between houses, leading up to the back of the synagogue.
Various police vehicles, sirens blaring, could be heard in the distance and an unmarked car, driven by a man who appeared to be military personnel, wearing brown camouflage army fatigues and a green cap, drove towards the cordon.
A rabbi has described the attack at the synagogue as ‘every Jewish person’s worst nightmare’.
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, emeritus rabbi of Maidenhead Synagogue and current head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain, said he felt ‘appalled’ by what had happened,
‘This is every Rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,’ he said. ‘Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering, and the time when the Jewish community, however religious or irreligious, gathers together.’
He added: ‘This will obviously heighten the fears that many Jews have had, that political violence would spill over into religious hatred.’
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: ‘Police were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, on Middleton Road, Crumpsall, at 9.31am by a member of the public, stating he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and one man had been stabbed.’
The force said it declared a major incident at 9.37am.
The statement continued: ‘Shots were fired by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers at 9.38am. One man has been shot, believed to be the offender. Paramedics arrived at the scene at 9.41am and are tending to members of the public.
‘(There are) currently four members of the public with injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area while the police continue to deal with the incident.’
Streets surrounding the synagogue have been cordoned off with police cars and vans, sirens blaring, racing down neighbouring roads.
Police officers dressed in black combat fatigues and carrying machine guns could also be seen inside the cordon outside the synagogue.
A Jewish man, among a group of shocked onlookers at the cordon, said his wife and daughter and other members of the congregation were still inside the synagogue.
A number of black, unmarked police 4×4 vehicles and vans carrying plain clothes officers with face coverings were seen leaving the area of the incident at speed.
A Jewish man said: ‘It is the holiest day of the year and we get this. There is no place for Jews in Britain anymore. It’s over.’
Locals are being urged to avoid the scene on Middleton Road, while the road is closed between Wilton Road and Crumpsall Lane.
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said resources had been sent to the scene.
A spokesman said: ‘Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible.’
It comes 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, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, 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.’
In terms of importance in the religious year he said it is similar to Christmas Day for Christians, but is a day of solemnity and fasting rather than celebration.
