Manchester mourns victims of deadly synagogue attack

Just metres from the police tape that marks the scene of a horrific and shocking terrorist attack on Manchester's Jewish community, neighbours came together to remember the lives of two innocent men.

- NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, died after Jihad Al-Shamie launched a frenzied car and knife attack on worshippers at the Heaton Park Shul on Thursday morning. Three others were left in a serious condition in what police and government leaders have since condemned as a “vile” terrorist attack.

As national figureheads flocked to Manchester to pay tribute yesterday, several of the victims’ neighbours told The Independent they woke up to the news that their friend would not be coming home.

Waqas Hussain, 32, and Haleema Younas, 34, live just a few doors down from Cravitz. They said they found out he had died after seeing his picture on the news yesterday morning, and described him as a “model neighbour” and a “lovely person”.

“I saw the picture, and because it’s quite an old picture, I did a double-take,” Mr Hussain said. “Honestly, he was such a lovely person, always going out of his way to help his neighbours out. He wasn’t one of those who would keep himself to himself. If he saw a new family had moved into the area, he’d be the first to go over.

“He was definitely a big bonding factor in the community. You’d see him in the morning, in his vest sometimes, putting the neighbours’ bins out. It’s so sad. It’s devastating. It’s definitely a loss to the community. He was a model neighbour.”