Author and activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu has blamed Israel after a car ramming and stabbing attack killed two people at a synagogue in Manchester. Three others were seriously injured and the gunman was shot – believed dead- in the attack.
Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu said: “Horrified not shocked about Manchester Synagogue – Israel’s war crimes endangers all Jews. Not shocked Zionists are weaponising it against Free Palestine protests & inciting hatred against Muslims which is already astronomical. My condolences are with the victims, 2 are now deceased.”
Her post prompted furious responses from social media users.
One replied: “Appalling. You can’t even let Jewish people have their grief for a few hours without making it about yourself.”
Another added: “Israel has no bearing on this attack. it is murder pure and simple. It is very cynical to suggest a link to Palestine.”
Whilst another user on X said: “No Jew should be under attack for the Israeli government’s actions; that’s not Israel’s fault, that’s the perpetrator who clearly has sick enough thoughts to carry out this attack. You’re trying to spin this one and point blame elsewhere.”
Two people have died and a man has been shot by armed police after a car was driven at pedestrians and a person was stabbed in a suspected terror attack outside a synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Greater Manchester Police said three others are in a serious condition following the attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, on Middleton Road in Crumpsall on Thursday morning.
The force confirmed a bomb disposal unit was sent to the scene after footage shared on social media appeared to show members of the public shouting to firearms officers that the suspect had a bomb strapped to him.
Police said the suspect is believed to be dead after shots were fired by armed police at 9.38am – but the force said that “cannot currently be confirmed due to safety issues surrounding suspicious items on his person”.
A picture of the alleged attacker, circulating online, showed a man with a beard and dark clothing standing outside the synagogue with unidentified objects strapped to his waist.
He can also be seen holding something in his hand.
The force said it had “declared Plato” – the national codeword used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said “additional police assets” will be deployed at synagogues across the country following the attack.
Police declared a major incident at 9.37am after receiving a call from a man who said he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.
The attack comes as members of the Jewish community observe Yom Kippur – considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and a time when synagogues are usually particularly busy.