Greater Manchester Police has issued a heartbreaking update following a terror attack at a synagogue yesterday (October 2) in which two Jewish people were killed.
Police have issued a heartbreaking update after two Jewish men, Adrian Daulby, 53, and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, were killed at a synagogue in Manchester, UK, yesterday.
They have now issued an update on the suspect, who has been identified as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent.
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, reported that the attacker came to the UK as a ‘small child’ and was naturalized as a British citizen while still a child in 2006, and that the individual was not known to the police already.
“For now, that is all we know of the attacker,” she stated.
Greater Manchester Police say three other suspects have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation, and instigation of acts of terrorism.
They are two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s.
Now, the force has issued a statement confirming that one of the victims died from a gunshot wound after being mistakenly shot by armed officers targeting the suspect.
The attacker was shot dead by armed police at the scene after noticing that the suspect had a bomb strapped to himself.
In a statement, Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said: “The Home Office Pathologist has advised that he has provisionally determined that one of the deceased victims would appear to have suffered a wound consistent with a gunshot injury.
“It is currently believed that the suspect, Jihad al Shamie, was not in possession of a firearm and the only shots fired were from GMP’s Authorised Firearms Officers as they worked to prevent the offender from entering the synagogue and causing further harm to our Jewish community.”
He added: “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.”
The chief constable noted that their prayers remain with the families of the victims, and the Jewish community.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has just arrived at the scene of the attack in Manchester with his wife, Victoria, who is Jewish, to pay their respects.
