UK police: 2 synagogue attack victims likely ‘accidentally shot’ by officers

Police officers talk with a member of the local community near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following an attack at the synagogue. Two people were killed and three wounded in a car ramming and stabbing incident outside a synagogue in Manchester, northwest England, on Thursday, police said. "A man believed to be the offender was shot by GMP (Greater Manchester Police) Firearms Officers and is also believed to be deceased," the force said on X, adding his death could not yet be confirmed due to "suspicious items on his person". (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Police officers talk with a member of the local community near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following an attack at the synagogue. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
12:21 PM – Saturday, October 4, 2025

One of the two deceased victims of the Manchester synagogue attack and another who was injured were likely shot by police officers, police said.

On Thursday, the Jewish holy holiday of Yom Kippur, a crazed assailant rammed his car into a synagogue wall in Manchester, England, then took a knife to the people outside. Armed police responded swiftly, shooting and killing the man, but two victims died and 3 people were seriously injured.

The UK officers said on Friday that they believed that the two victims were behind the door blocking the assailant from entering the synagogue when they caught bullets meant for the suspect.

Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravits, 66, both worshippers, died on Thursday. The suspect was identified as 35-year-old British citizen from Syria, Jihad Al Shamie.

A pathologist found that Daulby had a gunshot wound. However, Al Shamie did not have a gun on his person when he was subdued by law enforcement.

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“It follows therefore, that subject to further forensic examination, this injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end,” Watson said in a press update on Friday.

Another man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound, as well.

Daulby’s family said that his “final act was one of profound courage.”

Cravitz’s family said it was coping with the shocking loss of a man who “would do anything to help anyone.”

Dozens of people gathered near the synagogue on Friday for a vigil in the rain.

The leader of Orthodox Judaism in Britain, Chief Rabbi Ephiram Mirvis claimed on Thursday that the attack was the result of “an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred.”

“This not only an assault on the Jewish community, but an attack on the very foundations of humanity and the values of compassion, dignity and respect which we all share,” the rabbi posted on X.

UK police said the crime is currently being investigated as a terrorist attack, as Al Shamie “may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology.”

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