Manchester synagogue attack victims named as Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz – latest

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

The home secretary has urged pro-Palestine protesters not to carry out demonstrations in the wake of the terror attack in Greater Manchester.

Speaking on GB News, Mahmood said:

As far as I am concerned, I would have wanted to see people in this country step back from protesting for at least a few days, just to give the Jewish community here a chance to process what has happened and to begin the grieving process as well.

I am very disappointed that some of the organisers haven’t heeded the call to step back.

I would still call on people to show some love and some solidarity to the families of those who have been murdered and to our Jewish community.

Attacker was not known to police, home secretary says

The man who carried out the attack in Greater Manchester was not known to the police, the home secretary has confirmed.

Speaking on GB News as part of her morning media round, Shabana Mahmood said:

In terms of the attacker, this individual was not known to the security services.

He has obviously been shot dead at the scene, but the police investigations will now continue at pace.

She thanked members of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall and the police, saying their actions helped save lives.

Six minutes of terror: how Manchester synagogue attack unfolded

Worshippers had arrived early for a special morning service at Heaton Park shul in north Manchester. It was Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and rabbi Daniel Walker was leading prayers in his long white robes. By 9.31am, they were stained with blood.

Here, our North of England editor Josh Halliday explains how the attack unfolded:

Analysis: MI5 and counter-terror police on heightened alert

MI5 and counter-terrorism police will operate at a heightened state of alert in the coming weeks, reflecting concern that the Manchester synagogue attack may be followed by others during the period around the second anniversary of the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.

Policing at synagogues across the country is to be increased. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, promised “high visibility” patrols in and outside Jewish places of worship to reassure communities and to deter any further threats, while police forces elsewhere in the UK made similar commitments.

Investigations into the attack, which killed two and seriously injured four others, remain at an early stage. The central theory is that the killer, who was shot dead by police, had an Islamist motivation. There is no information in the public domain about whether he may have been radicalised by the continued Israeli military campaign and deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.

The attack, at about 9.30am at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, was not sophisticated.

There were concerns the attacker was carrying an explosive and appeared to have a vest and items strapped to his waist, but the devices were fakes. Victims at the synagogue, who were marking the last day of Yom Kippur, were stabbed with a knife.

A key line of inquiry for investigators is whether the attacker acted alone, though there is not thought to be any ongoing threat to the public.

Plots directed from overseas, once the norm in the era of al-Qaida, have become rare and individuals are more usually radicalised by following the news or gaining information online.

Investigators also acknowledged that the two-year Israel-Gaza war has changed the threat environment.

Two years ago, Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, said: “There clearly is the possibility that profound events in the Middle East will either generate more volume of UK threat, and/or change its shape in terms of what is being targeted, in terms of how people are taking inspiration.”

Read more here:

This is the scene in Crumpsall on Friday morning:

Feelings of safety in the UK’s Jewish community have declined sharply in the last couple of years, according to the largest survey of British Jews since 7 October 2023.

The research, conducted in June and July, found 35% of Jews felt unsafe in Britain in 2025, compared with 9% in 2023 before the Hamas attacks.

Perceptions of antisemitism had also intensified, with 47% of British Jews seeing it as a “very big” problem – up from just 11% in 2012.

The research, conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), also found 32% of Jews reported experiencing at least one antisemitic incident in 2024.

Meanwhile, the Community Security Trust (CST), which has been monitoring antisemitic incidents since 1994, recorded 1,521 cases in the UK from January to June 2025.

This was the second-highest total ever recorded in the first half of any year, second only to the first six months of 2024 with 2,019 in the immediate aftermath of the 7 October atrocity.

Of the 1,521 antisemitic incidents this year, 968 occurred across Greater London and Greater Manchester, the two UK cities with the biggest Jewish populations.

The new report from the JPR examined how British Jews are navigating “a period of profound challenge and instability”.

It found emotional attachment to Israel had increased – with 75% of British Jews feeling emotionally attached and 49% “very attached”, compared with 72% and 40% respectively just before 7 October.

However, it also found “anti-Zionist identification” had risen from 8% in 2022 to 12% in 2025, most notably among younger Jews, with a quarter (24%) of 20- to 29-year-olds now identifying as anti-Zionist, a rise from 13% in 2022.

Here’s a map showing where the attack took place:

Thursday’s attack drew widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum, with Keir Starmer calling the knife attacker a “vile individual” who “attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values”. Political rivals Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage were among those joining the prime minister in showing support for the Jewish community.

It happened days before the second anniversary of the 7 October attacks by Hamas in Israel. Police said there would be heightened security at synagogues and Jewish community centres in coming days. Research published on Thursday showed that more than a third (35%) of British Jews said they felt unsafe in the UK, compared with 9% before the 7 October attacks.

The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council ​said in a statement on Thursday evening that the attack was “sadly something we feared was coming”.

They added: “We call on all those in positions of power and influence to take the required action to combat hatred against Jewish people, and will be working with the authorities on a series of additional measures to protect our community over the coming days.”

You can reas our full report from yesterday here:

Naming the victims, Detective Ch Supt Lewis Hughes, who is coordinating the casualty response, said:

My deepest sympathies are with Mr Daulby and Mr Cravitz’s loved ones at this extremely hard time.

Specially trained family liaison officers are in contact with them. They will continue to update them on the investigation and support them throughout the coronial process

While there are processes which must be followed, we commit to being mindful of cultural preferences and sensitivities and to ensuring that these men and their loved ones’ wishes are respected.

Manchester synagogue attack victims named

The two men killed in Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in Manchester have been named as 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, police have said.

Greater Manchester police said formal identification is yet to take place but their families have been informed and family liaison officers are in contact.

The men were killed when an attacker used a car to ram into the grounds of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, then stabbed worshippers in a six-minute rampage that only ended when armed officers shot at him twice.

Three others were seriously injured in the attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Police named the attacker on Thursday night as Jihad al-Shamie, 35, a British citizen of Syrian descent. Greater Manchester police revealed that three other people – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – had been arrested “on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism”.

Postmortem examinations of the victims – both of whom are from Crumpsall – will take place later on Friday.

We’ll bring you the latest developments on this story as we get them.