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Manchester synagogue attack: Police admit to killing one of the victims by mistake while aiming for the suspect

One of the two victims from the Manchester synagogue attack was shot at the hands of the police, and not the attacker.
posted by Akanksha Mishra
Friday 10/3/2025 at 9:02AM EDT
  • NEW YORK, US - APRIL 22: Police intervene and arrest more than 100 students at New York University (NYU) who continue their demonstration on campus in solidarity with the students at Columbia University and to oppose Israel's attacks on Gaza, in New York, United States on April 22, 2024. Pro-Palestinian protesters have launched a wave of protests on campus condemning Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has displaced over 75% of the coastal enclave's estimated 2.3 million people, and resulted in over 34,000 deaths, according to Gaza health officials. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
    NEW YORK, US - APRIL 22: Police intervene and arrest more than 100 students at New York University (NYU) who continue their demonstration on campus in solidarity with the students at Columbia University and to oppose Israel's attacks on Gaza, in New York, United States on April 22, 2024. Pro-Palestinian protesters have launched a wave of protests on campus condemning Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has displaced over 75% of the coastal enclave's estimated 2.3 million people, and resulted in over 34,000 deaths, according to Gaza health officials. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    As more details of Thursday's Manchester synagogue attack continue to emerge, the police has made a chilling revelation. 

    According to CNN, police announced on Friday, October 3, that one of the two victims who lost their lives - Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz - in the attack could've fallen prey to the police officers. 

    As the officers attempted to take shot at the attacker, two victims were standing behind a door inside the synagogue, trying to prevent him from entering. As such, one of the officers' could have mistakenly shot one of them. 

    Stephen Watson - the Manchester police Chief Constable - said that the prime suspect, Jihad Al-Shamie, did not have a gun on his person. This meant that the gunshot wound the late victim suffered must have been incurred during the police's firing.

    Watson mentioned that the armed police officers' intention was only to prevent the offender was getting insid the synagogue, adding:

    "It follows therefore, that subject to further forensic examination, this injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end."

    Watson did not clarify whether it was Daulby or Cravitz who fell victim to their gunfiring. His announcement comes as PM Keir Starmer visited the synagogue on Friday. 

    The suspected attacker behind the Manchester synagogue attack was shot dead at scene

    The latest police announcement comes a day after officers released that name of the Manchester synagogue attacker as Jihad Al-Shamie. 

    Al-Shamie, who was a 35-year-old British citizen, with his roots traced back to Syria, was shot dead by the police officers at the scene. According to BBC, Al-Shamie came to the UK when he was a child, and received British citizenship in 2006. 

    After the security staff at the synagogue - as well as some of the brave Jewish inside - were successful in keeping Al-Shamie outiside of the synagogue, armed officers surrounded him. Their guns pointed at him as they continued to warn other bystanders to distance themselves from him, claiming that he had "a bomb on him". 

    As the scene cleared, Al-Shamie attempted to get up from his kneeled position on the ground and was shot instantly. The attack was later recognized as a "terrorist incident," with PM Starmer condemning its unfortunate occurrence on the holiest day for the Jewish - Yom Kippur.

    Starmer also addressed the Jewish commnunity compassionately in the wake of the tragedy, saying:

    "I promise you that over the coming days, you will see the other Britain, the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love."

    The PM also offered them a guarantee of providing security, particularly in the form of a more visible police presence to help them feel more secure in the country. 

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    TOPICS: Manchester