Manchester Synagogue Attack Triggers COBRA and Plato Response

A violent attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Crumpsall, Manchester, on Yom Kippur began around 9:31 a.m. when a car was driven at members and an assailant carried out a stabbing, leaving at least two worshippers dead and several others seriously injured. Armed Greater Manchester Police shot the suspected attacker at the scene; officials say he is believed to be dead, and emergency services declared a national "Plato" response while a bomb squad examined suspicious items. Eyewitnesses and video show congregants locking the synagogue doors and armed officers warning of a possible device, preventing the suspect from entering the building. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is returning to the UK to chair a COBRA meeting and extra security has been deployed to synagogues nationwide as police treat the incident as a major counterterror investigation. The attack has shocked the local Jewish community and comes amid heightened tensions related to the Israel–Hamas war; Heaton Park Shul has previously faced antisemitic abuse and the area was near a 2008 murder captured on CCTV.