‘We’re going to be strong, and we’re not going to let this defeat us in any way’
08:53, 04 Oct 2025Updated 09:02, 04 Oct 2025
Alan Levy (Image: ITV NEWS)
A man who helped barracade the door of a synagogue during the Manchester terror attack has said he heard the suspect shout: “This is what they get for killing our children.” The suspect – named as 35 year-old Jihad Al-Shamie – was later shot dead by armed police.
Alan Levy was worshipping alongside others at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday (September 2) – the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur – when Al-Shamie drove into a group outside. He then tried to force his way into the synagogue.
In what is being treated by police as an act of terrorism, two people lost their lives.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the attack and four other people were injured. Three of them remain in hospital with serious injuries.
Mr Daulby died after ‘suffering a gunshot wound’ when shots were fired by police towards Al-Shamie, who died at the scene, police said. Mr Cravitz is understood to have been fatally injured outside.
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Mr Levy told ITV News how he saw Al-Shamie waving a knife, and ran inside the synagogue to tell the congregation what was happening.
He said he helped barricade the doors then saw Al-Shamie ‘with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through’.
“The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in,” he told ITV News.
People leave flowers at the scene(Image: Getty Images)
“We were barricading the doors between us with Rabbi Walker and a number of the other congregants. He couldn’t get in because we were holding the doors firm.”
Mr Levy said he then heard the attacker shout ‘this is what they get for killing our children’. “All I heard him say was when the guys were outside the perimeter and were shouting at him. He shouted ‘this is what you get for killing our children’,” he said.
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“It’s just truly horrific. The attacks against our community. Our children aren’t safe in schools, we have to have guards. Our people are not safe at the synagogue going to pray on the holiest day of our year.”
Mr Levy praised the congregation, as well as police and non-Jewish people who ran to hold off the attacker. He said they carried on with the service on Yom Kippur at a police station after giving statements.
“We need to pay respect to some non-Jewish people who saw what was happening and who stopped to try and help out,” he said. “They tried to distract this man, to pull him away from the doors because they could see what he was doing. We’ve been overwhelmed by the local community, Jewish and non-Jewish, who’ve offered help and support to us in this time.”
Police at the scene(Image: PA)
“We’re going to be strong, and we’re not going to let this defeat us in any way.”
Police are continuing to question six people arrested as part of investigations into the background of Al-Shamie, who it emerged was on bail for an alleged rape at the time of the fatal attack.
On Friday night, police raided a house in Central Avenue, Bolton, while six people have been detained on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts as part of the investigation, with counter-terrorism police saying they will seek warrants to give them extra time to continue questioning them.
And Sir Keir Starmer has urged people planning to protest in Manchester and London this weekend to “respect the grief of British Jews” as he said demonstrations could cause further pain to mourners.