Manchester synagogue terrorist ID’d as British citizen of Syrian descent; 3 suspects in custody

By Reuters 2 October 2025, 11:23 pm

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Jihad al-Shamie, the suspect who carried out a deadly terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, UK, on Yom Kippur, October 2, 2025. (Image circulated on social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

British police say that the suspect in the deadly attack outside a synagogue in Manchester in northern England is believed to be Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent. Two members of the Jewish community were killed in the attack.

“We believe the person responsible for today’s attacks is 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie,” the Greater Manchester Police says. “He is a British citizen of Syrian descent.”

Al-Shamie was shot dead by armed officers after ramming a car into pedestrians and stabbing at least one person near a synagogue during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

The police added that three suspects — two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s — are currently in custody and “have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.”