Worshiper at Manchester synagogue says congregants ensured doors and windows were shut before attack

A worshiper at the Manchester synagogue recounts being inside the Jewish house of worship for Yom Kippur services when it was attacked by a terrorist.

“We’d already made sure that the doors and windows were shut,” Rob Kanter tells the Guardian, adding that after they heard gunshots, police entered the synagogue to escort the congregation to safety.

According to Kanter, his first reaction upon hearing the shots was “how are we going to keep ourselves and everyone else safe?” Despite initially feeling “bewildered” as they heard the attack outside, he says the atmosphere inside the synagogue was “actually relatively calm.”

“I would say the mood amongst our fellow congregants was very calm, and everyone deals with these things in their own way,” Kanter adds. “Some people get through this in a very quiet way, others like to talk, some people even try and use an element of humor just to keep themselves going.”

He also says the rabbi tried to continue the service after worshipers were led away from the shul by police, “because at the end of the day, because it’s awkward, and it’s difficult, people have got a multitude of emotions going on, but we carried on, and did not [perform] the whole service, but we did what we could in the circumstances.”