Manchester rabbi hailed as hero for barricading synagogue door amid deadly terror attack

2 October 2025, 7:14 pm

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Members of the local Jewish community stand by a police cordon near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following a deadly terror attack targeting the synagogue. (Oli Scarff/AFP)

The rabbi leading Yom Kippur services at the Manchester synagogue targeted in a deadly terror attack is being hailed as a hero, with eyewitnesses describing how he helped protect congregants.

“Rabbi Walker was incredibly calm, he shut the doors to the synagogue to stop him getting inside,” Chava Lewin tells the Daily Mail. “He barricaded everyone inside. He is a hero, this could have been even worse.”

Images from the scene appeared to show a blood stain on the rabbi’s white robe, which some members of the Jewish community wear on holy days.

Another witness who spoke with the BBC described how Walker stayed calm after the attack began and led congregants to safety.

“They are true heroes,” he is quoted as saying.