The father of Jihad al-Shamie, shot dead after attacking a Manchester synagogue, has condemned his son’s “heinous act,” calling it tragic and inexcusable.
In a statement purportedly issued on behalf of the larger family, Faraj al-Shamie stated that they wanted to disassociate themselves from Thursday's incident, which left two people dead and three critically injured.
He wrote:
“The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us.
The al-Shamie family in the UK and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians. We fully distance ourselves from this attack and express our deep shock and sorrow over what has happened. Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we pray for their strength and comfort.
We kindly request that all media outlets respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time and refrain from using this tragic event in any context that does not reflect the truth. May God have mercy on the innocent victims, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured.”
According to reports, Faraj al-Shamie served as a trauma surgeon for a number of non-governmental organizations in South Sudan and other crisis areas.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were identified by police as the two victims of Thursday's attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester.
Stephen Watson, the chief constable for Greater Manchester police, said on Friday that the armed police officers who hurried to the scene seemed to have shot one of the victims dead.
The unidentified male, according to the police, was one among those behind the synagogue door attempting to bar Shamie from entering.
On Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, one of the people injured in the incident was reportedly shot by police.
After using a car to force his way onto the grounds of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday, the assailant went on a six-minute spree, trying to knife attendees before being shot twice by armed officers, who killed him at the temple's entrance.
Shamie was a 35-year-old Syrian-born British citizen. Three further individuals, two males in their 30s and a woman in her 60s, were detained "on suspicion of commission, preparation, and instigation of acts of terrorism," according to Greater Manchester police.
In Prestwich, Greater Manchester, Shamie had been living there since before 2021, according to the neighbors. One of them remembered a baby at the property, but he was unable to remember ever seeing a woman there.
One woman said:
“We used to see him out in the garden working out, doing weights, press-ups. He used to change his clothes. One day he would be wearing the full gown, to the floor, and the next jeans [or] pyjama bottoms.”
According to another, Shamie's father went out around six or seven years ago and would come back in a car with a French license plate. They also thought Shamie had lived with both parents and two brothers at first.
Just before 4.30 p.m. yesterday, some seven hours after the massacre at a synagogue two miles distant, armed counterterrorism cops stormed the attacker's semi-detached residence.
Neighbors have uploaded footage of highly armed officers in military fatigues getting ready to raid the residence with a police dog and a chainsaw. One has two shields that were impervious to bullets.
“They just came up the street shouting and screaming,”
said one neighbour, Mike, who wanted only to give his first name.
“They shouted ‘Get down’ … they were there for ages.”
The chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, the head of Orthodox Judaism in Britain, said on Friday that the attack was the result of “an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred” on the streets and online. “This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come,” he wrote on social media.
The archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said the Church of England stood with the Jewish community against antisemitism.
“We then, as a church, have a responsibility to be a people who stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms,”
she said on Friday, in her first speech since being named for the role.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, and his wife, Victoria, visited the scene of the fatal attack on Friday morning, meeting police officers and viewing the flowers and tribute messages left on the street outside.
The Metropolitan police called for organisers to cancel a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action planned for Saturday in London, saying their resources were stretched by the need to protect the Jewish community.
A spokesperson said:
“The horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester yesterday will have caused significant fear and concern in communities across the UK, including here in London. Yet at a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation.
By choosing to encourage mass law-breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most. We urge them to do the responsible thing and delay or cancel their plans.”
How have Manchester Jewish leaders responded to the family statement?
The family's display of grief for Jihad al-Shami's attack has caused Jewish leaders in Manchester to feel distraught, urging that "everyone unite," while assuring you that security will be deployed to protect from antisemitism.
In a joint statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said "heartbroken at the loss" and saw elements of antisemitism in the event. They added that they were "working very closely with police to ensure community safety," as well as giving praise to police and the courage and emergency services. They also "reminded community members to be vigilant and work with professionals to secure protection."
In a statement, the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region said this event "was the result of two years of constant Jew hatred," and expressed that this was something the community has "always feared."