Attacker's digital footprint will be crucial for investigationpublished at 05:48 BST 3 October

05:48 BST 3 October

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

One of the highest priorities for the investigators is identifying everyone whom the attacker was in contact with, prior to his being shot dead at the scene.

Jihad Al-Shamie is not thought to have been the subject of any ongoing current investigation.

But that does not mean his name won’t crop up in connection with other investigations by Counter Terrorism Policing or the Security Service, MI5.

Experts say it is rare for a perpetrator to be acting in complete isolation.

Analysts at JTAC, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre in London, have been working flat out to determine whether they need to raise the National Terrorism Threat Level from its current level of "Substantial" to the next rung up, "Severe".

It’s been at "Substantial" since early 2022, meaning a terror attack is thought to be "likely".

Much will depend on what clues can now be gleaned from Al-Shamie’s digital footprint, such as the numbers stored in his phone and his activity online.

This investigation is still in its early stages.

We are resuming our live coverage of the aftermath of the attack on Manchester's Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, which left two Jewish people dead and three other people injured.

The UK's Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, says the attack is the "tragic result" of an "unrelenting wave of Jew hatred".

Police have named the assailant, who was shot dead at the scene, as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie. He struck on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments and reaction to an event which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned as a "terrorist attack".

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Two men from the Jewish community have died and three other people remain in hospital with serious injuries, police say, after a car and knife attack in Manchester.

The attack came on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

The attacker was killed by firearms officers, and three other people are being held in custody.

Manchester police say they believe the synagogue attacker is 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent.

He was wearing a device at the time of the attack - officers have since said it was "not viable".

Police have declared it a terrorist incident, and say they are working to understand the motivation behind the attack as the investigation continues.

We're pausing our live coverage now but there's lots of detail and reaction across the BBC. Here's where you can find more:

• What we know about Manchester synagogue attack
• Starmer vows to protect Jewish communities

• BBC Verify: What footage tells us about the attack
• Eyewitnesses describe Manchester synagogue attack
• Heroes stopped attacker getting inside synagogue

Image source, Getty Images

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis says today's attack was not only an "assault" on the Jewish community but an attack on the "very foundations of humanity and the values of compassion".

"This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come," he writes on Facebook.

"Our hearts are shattered," he adds as he says he hopes the attack will make people "confront antisemitism".

Mirvis also says that he has spoken to Rabbi Daniel Walker, the spiritual leader of the Heaton Park Synagogue, where the attack happened.

It's just gone 22:30 and the country is grappling with the aftermath of the deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester earlier today.

What do we know?

• A car was driven towards members of the public outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue a little after 09:30 this morning. The driver then stepped out and began stabbing people - here's a timeline of how the attack unfolded
• Two men have died and three others remain in hospital "with serious injuries"

• Manchester police have named 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie - a British citizen of Syrian descent - as the attacker
• The suspect was shot dead by firearms officers within seven minutes of 999 being called
• A bomb disposal unit was deployed after "suspicious items" were spotted around the suspect's waist - it was later confirmed the device was 'non-viable'
• Two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s have been arrested on suspicion of preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism

What we're still yet to find out:

• The motive of the attack
• The identity of the two men who have died
• The identity of the two men and the one woman being held in custody

Daniel Sandford
Home affairs correspondent

It is understood that Al-Shamie was a British national of Syrian descent, who entered the UK as a very young child, and was granted British citizenship in 2006 as a minor.

As we've been reporting, Greater Manchester Police named Jihad Al-Shamie as the person it believes is responsible for today's attack.

The president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt, is calling for more to be done to "stamp out murderous ideologies" following the terrorist attack at a synagogue in Manchester.

"Jews in Manchester, England, woke up this morning to pray, and were murdered in their own synagogue," the chief rabbi says in a statement to PA.

"Governments from the world over should spare us the statements about fighting antisemitism and instead ensure Jews are safe."

More now from Greater Manchester Police's latest update.

It says two men died and three other are in hospital "with serious injuries". One has a stab wound, a second was struck by the car involved in the attack, and a third "later presented himself at hospital with an injury that may have been sustained as officers stopped the attacker", the force says.

Officers are working to formally identify the two victims, it adds.

As we've reported, the force has named the person it believes is responsible for today's attack as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie.

Police say that based on what officers currently know, police records do not show any previous referrals for the individual to the counter-terror Prevent scheme.

Greater Manchester Police say three 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.

Greater Manchester Police has named the person it believes is responsible for today's attack as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie.

"He is a British citizen of Syrian descent," the force says. They add that formal identification is yet to take place.

The head of a charity providing protection for the Jewish community has said it will do everything it can to "strengthen the protection of our Jewish communities".

Community Security Trust (CST) chief executive Mark Gardner praises CST personnel, commercial security guards and worshippers, along with security doors, for preventing more casualties.

He says CST will "do everything" to increase protection of British Jews so they can "lead the life of their choice, as they must be able to do".

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

The Jewish festival of Yom Kippur has finished.

As British Jews across the UK attended synagogue this morning for the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, many found out that there had been an attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.

The horror filtered across the synagogue in whispers.

It is a day of fasting, reflection and prayer, when Jewish people believe it is the day that sets how their year will go.

The words used in one of the most significant prayers on this day: “on Yom Kippur it is sealed... who will live and who will die”.

Today, terror came to British Jews at their synagogue, and many absolutely fear for their safety. Security is already mandatory for synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres, but it is unable to fully keep out the hate.

Jewish people greet each other on Yom Kippur with a phrase in Hebrew "G’mar Chatima Tovah". It’s interpreted as "may you have a good and final sealing in the book of life".

Two Jewish people in Britain lost their lives today and for the community here, some who over generations fled persecution to these shores, who always viewed Britain as a safe haven, but have been rocked by an increase in antisemitism, nothing will ever feel the same again.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Sir Keir Starmer and his wife have visited a synagogue in London this evening, I understand.

Lady Victoria Starmer is Jewish.

Daniel Wittenberg
BBC News producer

Lots of Jewish people are only just going back online after Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It is marked by 25 hours of fasting and prayer, and traditionally, avoiding technology.

Many families and friends will be gathering in homes this evening to break the fast together. But what is normally a moment of relief and community will tonight feel very different.

Conversations at such gatherings often turn to questions of safety for Jewish people in Britain, in Israel, and elsewhere. In the wake of this morning's attack in Manchester, for many, those discussions will feel more urgent and more sombre.

Ewan Gawne
Reporting from Manchester

Image source, Matt Trewern/BBC

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, resident Josh Aronson remembers the moment he heard what sounded like gun shots.

"Police wouldn't allow us out of our flat building," he says. Then shortly afterwards he was told to evacuate.

"As I was walking down, I did see the rabbi of the synagogue," he says. "I saw at the bottom of his robe, there was some blood, and it's just, you know, been a shock."

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

A member of the Crumpsall Jewish community, Esther Aronson says she knows one of the people injured and saw him last night.

“I am crying but I’ve got to be strong because the families are around, so please god will he be better," she says. She describes the synagogue as a place that "uplifts everyone".

"It brings everyone a feeling of wholeness and security going to the synagogue together, praying together, being together, and seeing people you don’t usually see."

Manchester attack comes amid dangerous undercurrent of heightened alertspublished at 19:41 BST 2 October

19:41 BST 2 October

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Today’s events in Manchester are taking place amid a dangerous undercurrent of heightened alerts and warnings.

While the investigation into the perpetrator’s motives has yet to run its course, counter-terrorism police and the MI5 security service have been on alert for some time for so-called ‘blowback’ from the war in Gaza.

One official described the violence there as "a running sore that is radicalising people" across borders.

On 18 September, the Islamic State group urged its followers to carry out attacks on Jewish and Christian targets in Europe, especially in Britain.

For MI5, the perpetual challenge is deciding which plots and leads to prioritise.

As well as the threat from domestic terrorism, their officers are also trying to keep tabs on Russian, Chinese and Iranian covert activities in the UK.

Both blue and red sides of Manchester have shared statements in the wake of this morning's attack on a synagogue in Crumpsall.

A statement from Manchester United reads: "The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with the victims of today’s tragic events in north Manchester and we offer our support to all those affected."

Manchester City says: "We are shocked and saddened by the tragic events which took place in Manchester this morning, and we are sending our support and condolences to all those affected during this difficult time."

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has commented on the synagogue attack, saying Israel grieves with the UK's Jewish community.

"As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism," he said, referring to an address he gave at the UN General Assembly in New York last week.

Israel's foreign affairs minister went on to criticise "blatant and rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement" in the UK. Gideon Sa'ar said the UK's Jewish community was "suffering from a horrific wave of antisemitism".

"The authorities in Britain have failed to take the necessary action to curb this toxic wave of antisemitism and have effectively allowed it to persist," Sa'ar said.

"We expect more than words from the Starmer government. We expect and demand a change of course, effective action, and enforcement."

In a statement at Downing Street, PM Keir Starmer said Britain "must defeat" antisemitism and there would be a "more visible police presence" in the Jewish community.

Callum May
BBC News

The man leading prayers inside the synagogue attacked in Manchester says worshippers continued their service after being evacuated.

Rob Kanter tells reporters that the congregation was moved by police first into the rear hall of the building, then to a nearby centre.

Kanter – a university teacher – says he didn’t fear for his personal safety. “Everyone was calm and dignified. When we were moved down Middleton Road, the local community of all faiths and none who came out of their homes - their first thought was to check on our welfare," he says.

He says people “used an element of humour” to keep going – and the rabbi continued with part of the service.

“Of course it’s awkward and it’s difficult and people have got a multitude of emotions going on but we did what we did in the circumstances.

“Our rabbi’s role was to try and say yes, this is a terrible tragedy but at the end of the day we want to remember where possible today is Yom Kippur, the day of atonement."

“That is a gesture that says there are certain things that are eternal, there are certain things that cannot be stopped by this," he adds.

Earlier today, the prime minister said there would be additional police "assets" at synagogues across the UK.

And the Metropolitan Police said that while there was "nothing to suggest an increased threat to London", extra officers would be deployed in Jewish communities.

Synagogues across the UK already had security measures in place given the heightened threat of antisemitic violence, but this has been stepped up following today's attack.

You can see police and security teams stationed outside and patrolling around synagogues in the pictures below.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media