Two victims of Manchester synagogue attack accidentally shot by the police, authorities say
One of two victims who died in an antisemitic attack at a synagogue in Manchester was hit by police gunfire, authorities said.
The deceased victims were identified by police as local residents Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66. The attack occurred on Thursday outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community.
A person injured in the attack and currently recovering in hospital was also shot by police, but the gunshot wound was not life-threatening. Two other victims are in the hospital receiving treatment.
The suspect, Jihad Al-Shamie, drove a car to the scene, rammed into people and stabbed them. He did not have a gun, police said. A witness who called police said he saw a suspect banging on the door of the building with a knife, trying to gain entry, BBC News reported.
While trying to subdue the suspect, officers at the scene shot at him, according to a statement from Greater Manchester Police Chief Const. Sir Stephen Watson.
“It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshippers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry,” police said.
It was a “tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end,” said Watson.
The attack occurred in the suburb of Crumpsall, just less than five kilometres north of Manchester’s city centre, in northwest England.
Who were the victims in the Manchester attack?
Daulby was described by a neighbour as “a lovely guy,” The Telegraph reported . The neighbour, John Kelly, said Daulby fed his cat when he was away. “I used to do his garden,” said Kelly. Daulby lived about a 10-minute walk from the synagogue. He said that Daulby, a cancer survivor, didn’t like being photographed.
Another neighbour, Abdul Rahimi, said Daulby was “like an angel,” BBC reported . “He was a very good neighbour, very good guy, always helpful,” he said.
Cravitz was described by his boss David Salzman as “such a special person with a big heart,” according to The Telegraph. “He was always there for everyone. You always have that one person that’s just so special and wants to help and nothing was a problem for him,” he said.
Brian Bell told The Times that Cravitz was a “gentle soul who wouldn’t harm a fly.”
“He usually comes late to the synagogue, when he did attend he normally came at 10:30 or 11 a.m. This was the one time in living memory … that he had arrived at the beginning of the service and then he was attacked at the gate,” said Bell.
Friends of Cravitz, Elchonon and Hindi Cohen, said he was “always with a joke, always making a smile. He had his humour.”
Cravitz, who didn’t have his own children, was a “beloved uncle figure,” by his wife Karen’s children from a previous marriage, said the Cohens, The Telegraph reported.
“He didn’t have immediate family of his own but the family he had he was desperate to connect with,” Hindi said. “This is a tragedy for all of them.”
One of the three victims recovering in hospital, who was injured by a gunshot wound, was identified as Yoni Finlay in reports by BBC and Sky News . A second victim was identified by Sky News as Andrew Franks.
A vigil was held on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. local time in honour of the victims and to show solidarity with the Manchester Jewish community. It was organized by the The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region .
The police chief is also pleading with citizens not to go through with some planned demonstrations this weekend.
“I am directly appealing to all those who might be intending to protest this weekend to consider whether this is really the right time,” Watson said. “You could do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community.”
Who was the suspect in the Manchester attack?
Police identified Al-Shamie, 35, as a suspect in the attack who was killed by officers. He was a British citizen of Syrian descent.
He lived in Prestwich, a suburb just west of Crumpsall, in Manchester, the BBC reported . A man whom the publication identified as his father, Faraj Al-Shamie, released a statement on Facebook on Friday on behalf of the family. He said the attack was a “profound shock.”
Al-Shamie Family Statment The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has...
Posted by Faraj Al-Shamie on Friday, October 3, 2025
The family “strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians,” he wrote.
“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.”
According to the BBC, the younger Al-Shamie moved to the United Kingdom as a child and became a British citizen in 2006, when he was 16 years old.
It was later revealed that a vest worn by Al-Shamie that appeared to contain explosives was not viable.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Al-Shamie was not known to counter terror police while speaking to Sky News .
Three other suspects, two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s, are in police custody. They were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
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