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One of the two victims who died in the terrorist attack on a U.K. synagogue on Yom Kippur was accidentally shot by Manchester police as they rushed to subdue the attacker, British officials confirmed on Friday.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed on Thursday after 35-year-old British citizen born in Syria, Jihad Al Shamie, plowed his car into pedestrians and then stabbed at least one other victim.
The incident resulted in two killed and four others injured.
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But according to Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson, Al Shamie, who was killed at the scene by British police, was not found to have been carrying a gun.
“It follows therefore, that subject to further forensic examination, this injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end,” Watson said in a press update on Friday.
Of the three injured victims still being medically treated, one of them also sustained a gunshot wound.
Watson – who has not confirmed whether it was the gunshot wound that killed one of the victims on Thursday – said the wound inflicted on the second victim hit by a firearm was “mercifully” not life-threatening.
“It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshipers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry,” the chief constable said.
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The motive behind the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue remains unconfirmed, though it comes as crimes targeting Jews across the U.K. have drastically risen following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
The police chief said he was aware there were pro-Palestinian protests across Manchester that police would be present at, but he urged locals to consider “whether this is really the right time.”
“You could do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community,” Watson added.
British officials, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Prime Minister Kier Starmer urged protesters to respect their fellow citizens and the tragic events that occurred on the holiest day of the Jewish faith.
“Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy – and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza – but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes,” Starmer wrote in the Jewish Chronicle.
“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognize and respect the grief of British Jews this week. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he added.
Manchester police could not be immediately reached for this report.