Two people were killed and three were injured by a man wielding a knife outside a synagogue in Manchester, England, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

The attack was categorized by authorities as a “marauding terror attack” and came as emotions run high surrounding the Israel-Hamas war. The suspect was shot and is believed to be dead.

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Here’s everything to know about the stabbing:

What happened?

A man drove his car into a crowd gathered outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Thursday. After exiting the car, the man stabbed a security guard and then turned to the crowd.

Police said a quick-thinking witness closed and locked the door of the synagogue and called the police, preventing the attacker from entering and killing a larger number of people. A video showed police aiming their guns at the suspected attacker, who was writhing on the ground.

A bystander was heard alleging that the attacker had a bomb, though this hasn’t been confirmed. A bomb squad was dispatched to examine a suspicious device, keeping the other congregants away.

The attack began at 9:31 a.m. local time, a half hour before the scheduled services were set to start. It occurred on Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when the synagogue would have seen its peak number of visitors.

Police said the suspect was shot at 9:38 a.m.

What are UK authorities saying about the attack?

Authorities in the United Kingdom were unanimous in condemning the attack and offering their support to the U.K.’s Jewish community.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking from Copenhagen, Denmark, announced that “additional police assets” were being sent to synagogues across the country in response to the attack.

“We will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe,” he said.

The prime minister will fly home early from a conference with European leaders on Friday to deal with the emergency.

U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who is responsible for security, said she was being briefed by police on the situation.

“I am horrified by the news of an attack at a synagogue in Manchester today, on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar,” she said in a statement. “My first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services.”

King Charles III said, “My wife and I have been deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”

The Israeli Embassy in the U.K. also condemned the attack, thanking British authorities and police for their swift response.

“That such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in a place of prayer and community, is abhorrent and deeply distressing,” it said in a statement. “The Embassy is in close contact with Manchester Jewish community, British authorities and the Community Security Trust (CST) to monitor developments and ensure that the necessary support is provided.”

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What tensions precipitated the attack?

Manchester has undergone a major demographic transformation over the past few decades, which has created pressure in the area, similar to many cities across the U.K. and Europe. The area where the attack occurred is dominated by a majority-Jewish neighborhood situated right next to a majority-Muslim neighborhood.

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The war in Gaza has triggered a surge in hate crimes. The U.K.’s Home Office recorded the third-highest annual number of religious hate crimes in Greater Manchester’s history in March 2024.

Jewish leaders in the city lamented that interfaith dialogue between the communities had collapsed in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel and the subsequent war, though a concerted effort was made in recent months to revive this.