SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
An attack on a synagogue in Manchester has left Britain on edge. Two people were killed after a car-ramming and stabbing attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The alleged attacker was killed by police. Officials are calling it an act of terrorism, and extra security has been ordered at synagogues across the United Kingdom. NPR's Lauren Frayer has been covering this and joins us now from London. Hey, Lauren.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Hi.
DETROW: Just walk us through the day's events.
FRAYER: Yeah. So this began just after 9:30 this morning. It's a Jewish holiday. People were gathering at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester when a car plowed into pedestrians outside. Here's Manchester Police Constable (ph) Stephen Watson speaking to reporters.
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STEPHEN WATSON: The driver of the car was seen then to attack people with a knife. He was wearing about his body a vest which had the appearance of an explosive device.
FRAYER: And passersby actually filmed video of officers yelling at people to run. Here's part of that.
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UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: (Shouting) Everybody else, get back. If you're not involved, move back. Get away.
FRAYER: Officers aimed their guns at the suspect and then killed him. His vest, it turned out, was not viable, police say. Three other people were arrested.
DETROW: Any sense of who they are and who the assailant is?
FRAYER: Police say the people they arrested are two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s. They're being held on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. And the attacker has now been identified by police as Jihad al-Shami, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent. People - police say he was not known to them, didn't have a previous record. They hadn't received tips about him.
DETROW: We've seen threats and attacks all over the world. And of course, this is coming just before the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, the start of the Gaza War. Any sense whether this attack was tied to that?
FRAYER: It's unclear, but there really has been a spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since October 7, 2023. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar criticized U.K. authorities tonight, accusing them of allowing this to happen. On social media, he said authorities in Britain have, quote, not taken - "have not been taking the required action to stem this toxic wave of antisemitism" (ph). You know, Manchester has the United Kingdom's biggest Jewish community outside of London. Here's Raphi Bloom, who was actually on his way to the Heaton Park synagogue when it came under attack. He spoke to the BBC.
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RAPHI BLOOM: I never thought it would happen at my synagogue in my city, but it's something that we all expected.
FRAYER: You know, I noticed extra security outside synagogues that I passed by yesterday in London, even before this attack. It is Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. And condolences have been pouring in now, including from King Charles. Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying he and the queen are shocked and saddened.
DETROW: What has been the British government's response?
FRAYER: Well, Prime Minister Keir Starmer rushed home from a European summit in Denmark. He held an emergency Cabinet meeting this afternoon, and then he made a televised address from Downing Street. And he spoke in that address directly to the Jewish community. Here's part of what he had to say.
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PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears. Nobody should have to do that. Nobody.
FRAYER: And Starmer has deployed extra police to synagogues across the country tonight.
DETROW: That is NPR's Lauren Frayer in London. Thank you so much.
FRAYER: Thanks for having me.
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