British police announced on Thursday that at an airport in northwest England arrested a 31-year-old man in connection with the October attack on a synagogue in Manchester. Three people lost their lives, including the attacker, TASR reports, according to reports from the AFP agency and the BBC station. According to the police, the man is a suspect from committing, preparing and inciting terrorist acts. He was detained upon arrival at Manchester Airport and remains in custody where he is being questioned.
In connection with the attack on the synagogue of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in the Crumpsall district, there has been so far seven people detained. Five of them were released without charge. During a visit to a synagogue in London on Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted that the Jewish community feels increased fear after the attack in Manchester and after the attack of the Hamas movement on Israel on October 7, 2023.z
The attack in Manchester took place on October 2. The police identified the attacker as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian origin, and she shot him within seven minutes of the attack. First, he rammed his car into people in front of the synagogue and then attacked a security guard with a knife. There were many believers in the synagogue on the occasion of the biggest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). The attack left two victims aged 53 and 66, one of whom was probably hit by the police by mistake. Three other people were seriously injured.
