British police said on Thursday that two people were killed and three others seriously injured after a man drove a car into pedestrians and stabbed a security guard near a synagogue in Manchester, northwest England. Officers responding to the incident shot the suspected assailant, who was also believed to have died.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were called to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall district after witnesses reported a vehicle being driven at members of the public and a man being stabbed. Armed officers confronted the suspect and opened fire inside the synagogue’s perimeter.

“Two people have been confirmed dead and three others are in a serious condition,” GMP said. The suspect’s death could not immediately be confirmed “due to safety issues surrounding suspicious items on his person.” A bomb disposal unit was deployed to the scene.

A video shared on social media and verified by Reuters showed police shooting a man inside the synagogue grounds, while another man lay in a pool of blood, appearing to wear a traditional Jewish head covering.

Ambulance crews in protective body armour and helmets attended the scene, and at least one victim was seen being taken into an ambulance. Police also confirmed that a synagogue security guard had been stabbed.

The attack took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. “I’m appalled by the attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X after leaving a European political meeting in Copenhagen early. “The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur makes it all the more horrific.”

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described it as a serious incident but told the BBC that “the immediate danger appears to be over.”

The Community Security Trust, which provides protection to Jewish institutions across Britain, called the assault “an appalling attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year” and said it was working with police and the local community.

The incident comes amid heightened concerns over antisemitism in Britain. The CST reported earlier this year that 2024 was the UK’s second-worst year on record for antisemitic incidents, with more than 3,500 logged. Levels surged after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Britain has also suffered a string of Islamist militant attacks since 2001, including the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Police have simultaneously warned of the growing threat from organised far-right extremists; earlier this year, several were convicted of plotting attacks on mosques and synagogues.