Manchester Synagogue Attacker Dead; Father Praised Hamas

A 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, Jihad al-Shamie, ploughed a car into worshippers and attacked congregants outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall on Yom Kippur, killing two men — Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66 — wounding three, and was fatally shot by police. Eyewitnesses said he shouted references to the Gaza war and police have said one victim may have been accidentally shot by officers while helping to barricade a door. UK media report al-Shamie had prior lesser criminal convictions, is under investigation this year over an alleged rape, and is being probed over a possible 2012 death threat to an MP. His family condemned the "heinous" attack, but a review of father Faraj Al-Shamie's social media showed praise for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault — calling fighters "men of God on earth" and describing the strike as a "miracle by all standards" — though Faraj, a trauma surgeon who has worked in war zones, has since issued a distancing statement. The posts and the attack have intensified tensions around pro-Palestinian protests in the UK, and police continue to investigate the incident and related online material.