Two killed and four seriously hurt in rampage at synagogue

PhD in Jewish Muslim relations, was in the synagogue at the time of the attack.

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When he first heard shots, Kanter said he felt “bewildered, because I think the adrenaline kicks in” and then found himself questioning “am I really hearing this?” His first response then was “how are we going to keep ourselves and everyone else safe?” But he said the mood inside the synagogue was “actually relatively calm” as the attack unfolded outside.

“I would say the mood amongst our fellow congregants was very calm, and everyone deals with these things in their own way,” he said. “Some people get through this in a very quiet way, others like to talk, some people even try and use an element of humour just to keep themselves going.”

Kanter said that once the congregants had been evacuated by police, the rabbi had done his best to continue with the service.

GMP said officers had been called to the synagogue on Middleton Road at 9.31am by someone who said he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.

The force said: “Firearms officers were deployed at 9.34am as police continued to receive further reports from members of the public that a security guard had been attacked with a knife.”