Adam Vaughan / EPA
British authorities confirmed that one of the men killed during the terrorist attack on the synagogue Heaton Park Congregation in northwestern England was hit by police shots. The aggressor, a British of Syria, “attacked Jews because they were Jews.”
One of the victims of ATTACK WITH VEHICLE AND KNIFE Against a British synagogue who on Thursday made two mortal victims was accidentally killed by a police officer, the British authorities announced on Friday.
Adrian Daulby53 years old, and Melvin Cravitz66, died from the injuries suffered in the attack on Thursday morning at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, officially classified as a terrorist attack.
Police did not specify Which of the victims was hit, but indicated that the shot person was with another, who was equally hit but survived.
The two affected people were close to the Synagogue doorwhere the faithful “acted with the courage to prevent the perpetrator from entering,” according to the police statement, quoted by.
On the morning of Friday, the head of the Manchester police, Stephen Watsonrevealed that the forensic expertise concluded that one of the deadly victims presented “a Firearm firing compatible wound”.
Watson stressed that the striker, Jihad al-shamieI didn’t have any firearms with you and that the unique shots made It was the armed police teams that responded to the attack.
“It is concluded, therefore, that, subject to more forensic exams, this wound will have been unfortunately tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgent action carried out by my agents To end this brutal attack”Said the official.
The striker, British citizen of Syriaat the age of 35, was also shot down by police at the scene.
The attack, which occurred in full Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of the Jewish calendar, reinforced the growing fears of the security of Jewish communities around the world, in a context of increased anti -Semitism. The British authorities classified the attack as terrorism.
The aggressor’s father, Faraj al-Shamie, published on Friday morning, on Facebook, a family statement to condemn the attack, stating that it was one “Deep shock” for family members.
“The Al-Shamie family, in the United Kingdom and abroad, firmly condemns this heinous act, which aimed innocent and peaceful civilians”Read in the statement.
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Jihad al-Shamie rarely spoke to his neighbors
“We totally distanced ourselves from this attack and express our deep sadness and dismay for the successful. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, whom we want strength and comfort. ”
The police did not officially advance the motivation of the aggressor, but the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmerhe said, in a communication to the country on Thursday night, that the man “attacked Jews because they were Jews”.
Stmer, whose woman is Jewish, recalled that Anti -Semitism “is not new”but warned that “It is a hate that grows again and that Britain has to defeat again. ”
The interior minister, Shabana MahmoodI told BBC on Friday morning that the striker had arrived in the United Kingdom still a child, with the familyand obtained British citizenship in 2006. In an interview with Times Radio, Mahmod added that the aggressor “It was not known to the anti -terrorist police”.
Jihad al-shamie was not being investigated for the security servicesAE had never been classified as a “target of interest” in their databases, although those responsible for intelligence do not exclude that they may be identified connections with individuals already under surveillance.
On Thursday, police announced the detention of three people – Two men in their 30s and a woman in their 60s – suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism. The identities were not revealed, the detainees being in custody.
The patrols in Manchester were also reinforced, with a “highly visible” police presence around the synagogues to reassure local communities.
