British police acknowledged Friday that two victims, including one man who died, may have been accidentally shot by officers during their response to a terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue on Thursday during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said initial findings suggest the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, was not armed with a firearm. “It is currently believed that the suspect … was not in possession of a firearm and the only shots fired were from GMP’s Authorized Firearms Officer,” the force said in a statement.Chief Constable Steve Watson described the injuries as “a tragic and unforeseen consequence” of urgent police action. He said both shooting victims are thought to have been standing together behind the synagogue doors as worshippers tried to block the attacker from entering the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue.One of the wounded remains in hospital with gunshot injuries. Earlier, police confirmed that two local residents, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed in Thursday’s assault..UPDATED: Synagogue attack in England leaves two dead, police kill suspect.The incident, which the government has declared a terrorist attack, began when Al-Shamie rammed his car into pedestrians before stabbing a security guard outside the synagogue.Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered increased police patrols at synagogues nationwide. On Friday, he visited the Manchester congregation, meeting privately with community members. A day earlier, Starmer said Al-Shamie had targeted Jews “because they are Jews.”Authorities said Al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, had not previously been flagged to the country’s counter-radicalization program, Prevent. His family issued a statement expressing “profound shock” and distancing themselves from what they called his “heinous act.”By Friday morning, police maintained a heavy presence at the attack site, where flowers were being left in memory of the victims.The attack has also fueled wider tensions. Hours after the incident, pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupted in several British cities. In London, police clashed with protesters near Downing Street, making 40 arrests.
