The individual responsible for the tragic car and knife attack near a synagogue in Manchester, United Kingdom, on Thursday has been identified by authorities as Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British national with Syrian roots.
According to police, Al-Shamie moved to the United Kingdom as a child and became a citizen in 2006. He had no history of criminal activity. The name Al-Shamie translates to “the Syrian” in English, and it remains uncertain if this is his original name.
The Metropolitan Police in London labeled the incident a terror attack. It occurred on Yom Kippur, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar, as large groups gathered at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue.
The attacker’s exact motive is still being probed by police.
Emergency personnel escort people to safety following the car and knife terror attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, England, on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. Authorities reported two fatalities, and four individuals were injured before armed officers neutralized the suspect. ( Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
A witness in a nearby video claimed the attacker had a bomb and attempted to activate it. As he tried to rise, a gunshot was heard, and he collapsed, then rolled onto his side.
In a national address, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the event as a “vile terrorist attack targeting Jews, simply because of their faith.”
“Antisemitism is a hatred that is rising, once again. Britain must defeat it, once again,” Starmer said. “To every Jewish person in this country: I promise that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security you deserve.”
Map shows the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, England, where police say two people were killed and three others injured in a car and knife attack on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. Armed officers shot the suspect. (Fox News)
Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have soared following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.
More than 1,500 incidents were reported in the first half of the year, the second-highest reported since the record set a year earlier.
Fox News’ Simon Owen and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
