How Manchester synagogue attack unfolded

Two people were killed and a suspected terrorist was shot dead by police after a car was driven at pedestrians outside a synagogue in Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police said three other people were left seriously injured by the attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Middleton Road in Crumpsall.

The attack took place on Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – in an area of north Manchester with a large Jewish community.

Hearing from eye witnesses, the emergency services and political leaders, BBC News pieces together how the day unfolded.

Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham was at BBC Radio Manchester’s studios in Salford Quays, preparing to take part in his regular In The Hot Seat interview, when initial reports filtered in.

Over the course of the next few minutes, Burnham provided listeners with live updates from Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

A timeline of what had happened started to emerge.

A member of the public called police at 09:31 BST to say he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Middleton Road in Crumpsall, and also that one man had been stabbed.

GMP said firearms officers were deployed to the scene at 09:34. Meanwhile, police continued to receive further reports from members of the public that a security guard had been attacked with a knife.

At 09:37, the force declared “Plato” – the protocol followed by emergency services in response to large-scale incidents including “marauding terrorist attacks”. NHS trusts also activated their major incident plans.

Shots were fired by GMP firearms officers at 09:38, with one man – believed to be the suspect – hit.

Video footage shared on social media showed police officers pointing their weapons at someone lying on the ground outside the synagogue. They were shouting to onlookers to get back and move on.

The person on the ground was seen starting to get up before there was the sound of a gunshot and they fell back to the ground.

An onlooker could be heard saying the suspect “has got a bomb on him” and “he’s going to blow himself up, he’s trying to press the button”.

Another person was shown lying motionless on the ground outside the synagogue.

Eyewitnesses explained what they had seen.

A delivery driver, who only gave his name as Gareth, told BBC Radio Manchester: “Somebody shouted ‘He’s in the school or the synagogue’ and then as we looked over the guy had a knife, and he was just stabbing the window, trying to get in [the building], and within seconds the police arrived.

“They gave him a couple of warnings, he didn’t listen, so they opened fire. He went down on the floor and then he started getting back up and then they shot him again.”

Another witness, Shah, described seeing the attacker “running with a knife” and “going on the rampage”.

Chava Lewin, who lives next door to the synagogue, said: “The second he got out of the car he started stabbing anyone near him.

“He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue. He was in the courtyard.

“Someone barricaded the door. Everyone is in utter shock.”

At 09:41, paramedics arrived at the attack scene and were tending to members of the public. Four people were reported to have been injured as a result of the vehicle and knife attack.

Members of the public were asked to avoid the area.

Reaction quickly poured in, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying he was “appalled” by the attack, adding: “The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – makes it all the more horrific.”

Starmer said he would fly home early from a meeting of European leaders to chair an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (Cobra).

Burnham said it appeared one of the victims was a security guard who had been attacked with a knife.

He said: “It would seem that some of the security used by our colleagues in the Jewish community has really played a role here in preventing it being a worse situation.”

At 11:15 a white lorry marked “Bomb Disposal” arrived at the scene and went behind the police cordon that had been set up around the synagogue.

Eight minutes later, Burnham said “it is believed that the offender is deceased” and the incident “is contained”.

At 12:13, GMP confirmed two people had been killed in the incident and that three other members of the public had been seriously injured.

The suspected attacker had been shot by armed officers, said a spokesperson, but his death “cannot currently be confirmed… due to suspicious items on his person”.

GMP said: “The bomb disposal unit has been called and is now at the scene.”

Reaction continued to flood in. King Charles said he and the Queen were “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community”.

More details continued to emerge about the attack, as well as how it might have been even deadlier.

At 12:34, GMP praised the “quick response” of a witness which allowed police to take “swift action” to prevent the offender “from entering the synagogue”.

Some hospitals were put in “lockdown” as a precautionary measure.

By 13:02, people were urged to only attend A&E units in Greater Manchester if their condition was life-threatening.

An extensive police presence remained in the Crumpsall area.

A man living on White House Avenue, not far from the synagogue, said he saw two men in handcuffs being led away by police.

The resident, who did not wanted to be identified, told the PA news agency: “They’ve arrested two people on our road.”

He said he did not know the men, or which house they were linked to.

At 14:14 police confirmed that the suspect, who had been shot by armed officers, was dead.

At 15:22 the Metropolitan Police’s head of counter-terrorism policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, confirmed a “terrorist incident” had been declared.

He said two people had been arrested over the fatal attack.

“We believe we know their identity, but for safety reasons at the scene, we’re unable to confirm at this stage,” he added.

Counter-terrorism police were working with Greater Manchester Police to investigate the attack, he said.

At 15:57 Greater Manchester’s Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson confirmed that two members of the Jewish community were killed in the attack.

Sir Stephen added the attacker had been wearing “a vest which had the appearance of an explosive device”.