Two Killed and Four Injured in Synagogue Attack in Manchester

What Happened?

Two people were killed and four were injured during an attack on a Synagogue in Manchester, United Kingdom, yesterday. The attacker drove his vehicle towards the church at high speed, then exited quickly and began attacking members of the gathered worshipers with a knife. 

The attacker was killed by Manchester police shortly after the attack began. An eyewitness to the attack said, ‘Within seconds, the police arrived, they gave him a couple of warnings, he didn't listen so they opened fire.’ Though the identity of the attacker has not yet been disclosed, local police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Why it Matters

The attack on the Synagogue in Manchester continues a pattern of recent assaults on places of worship around the world. Most recently, two churches have been attacked in the United States in Minnesota and Michigan, and dozens of churches in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Congo, and Mozambique have been attacked so far this year.

Just hours after the attack in Manchester, the head of Britain’s national counter-terror policing held a separate press conference at New Scotland Yard and said the attack had been declared a terrorist incident. Two arrests have been made in conjunction with the Manchester attack, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.

Exactly why there has been such an uptick in attacks on churches worldwide remains unclear. But places of worship are most likely chosen as targets by would-be attackers because they contain a high number of people close together and tend to generate a lot of attention. There is no single religion or denomination that has been the exclusive focus of all the attacks, with Mormon, Jewish, and Christian places of worship all being attacked this year.

In the case of the Manchester synagogue attack, anti-Jewish sentiment due to the war in Gaza is a possible motive, but thus far, police have not provided any direct evidence to prove that was the case. Britain’s Prime Minister condemned the attack as ‘horrific’ but offered no new details on the investigation. Mr. Starmer did say additional police assets would be deployed to increase security at places of worship in the United Kingdom, but he did not provide any specifics.

The attack took place on Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur means ‘Day of Atonement’ and traditionally members of the Jewish faith fast the entire day and spend time in prayer or attending synagogue services.

How it Affects You

Because the recent attacks on churches have taken place in many different places by a wide range of groups and individuals, as yet, there is no obvious pattern as to the underlying motives or methods. Different attackers using different methods have carried out a number of assaults, which makes predicting where the next attack might come difficult. The sheer number of churches worldwide makes it nearly impossible to provide security to all of them.