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A suspect has been shot by police in Manchester after a knife and car attack at a synagogue that left four people injured, leading authorities across the UK to step up security measures at Jewish sites.
Greater Manchester Police said on Thursday they had been called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at around 9.30am. The force said the attacker had driven a car at members of the public.
“Shots were fired by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers at 9.38am. One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” GMP said.
Police added that four members of the public had been injured, “caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds”.
GMP have declared “Plato”, which refers to emergency responses to large-scale incidents including possible terrorist attacks.
Specialist counter-terrorist police, officers armed with machine guns and members of the army were seen at the site, as was a mobile bomb disposal unit.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will return to London early from a summit in Copenhagen to chair the UK government’s Cobra emergency response group.
Starmer said he was “appalled” by Thursday’s incident, adding that the timing of the attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, “makes it all the more horrific”.
He added: “Additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.”
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, told the BBC the suspect was believed to be dead.
“The immediate danger appears to be over and GMP have dealt with it very quickly,” Burnham said.
Witnesses told police that one of the victims was a security guard at the synagogue.
Footage of the scene shared on social media showed the attacker writhing on the ground within the gates of the synagogue when police shoot him. An officer shouted to a nearby crowd “he has a bomb” and “move back”.
It has not been confirmed that the attacker was armed with a bomb.
A damaged black Kia car can be seen near the gates to the synagogue having been driven off the road.
This is a developing story
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