Hero Manchester synagogue attack victim was shot dead by armed police officer as he tried to stop terrorist from entering building, inquest hears

One of the men killed in a terror attack on a Manchester synagogue died from multiple stab wounds, while another was fatally shot by an armed police officer, an inquest heard today.

Melvin Cravitz, 66, died when 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie attacked Manchester’s Heaton Park Synagogue with a knife earlier this month.

Adrian Daulby, a 53-year-old fellow worshiper who bravely tried to stop the terrorist entering the building, died from a single bullet wound as a result of being accidentally hit by a bullet fired by an armed police officer during this persecution.

The cause of death for both men was revealed at the opening of the inquest at Manchester Coroner’s Court today.

The Chief Prosecutor for England and Wales, Judge Alexia Durran, took charge of the hearings.

Opening the inquest, he said: ‘I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby.’

He asked Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes of Greater Manchester Police, the senior investigating officer, to explain what happened to the men on October 2.

He said a review of security footage from around 9.30am showed Mr Cravitz being attacked after Al-Shamie drove his black Kia car into a security guard and the gated wall of the synagogue, ‘narrowly missing another security guard’.

Adrian Daulby, 53, also died after being accidentally shot by police

Al-Shamie exited the vehicle and then made ‘immediate stabbing movements’ towards Mr Cravitz ‘towards his upper torso, neck and head area’.

The man, who was transported to hospital by ambulance, was pronounced dead at Manchester Royal Infirmary at 10.45am. An autopsy showed the man died from multiple stab wounds.

Mr Hughes then turned to Mr Daulby’s death.

He said armed officers “fired several shots” after Al-Shamie ran towards them, wielding a knife and apparently wearing a suicide vest.

The senior officer said a single bullet pierced the synagogue door and struck Mr Daulby in the chest. Mr Daulby was pronounced dead at the scene at 10.15am.

Mr Hughes said Mr Daulby held the synagogue’s main door for ‘about two minutes’ as Al-Shamie tried to get inside.

An autopsy showed that he died from a single gunshot wound, and the medical examiner recorded this as a provisional cause of death.

Mr Hughes said the force had declared Operation Plateau, the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a terrorist attack.

The hearing was attended by the dead man’s family and friends, as well as representatives of the emergency services, counter-terrorism police and members of the synagogue community.

Following the attack, Mr Cravitz’s family described him as a “kind, caring” person who would “do anything to help anyone”.

They said he ‘always wanted to chat and get to know people’.

‘He was devoted to his wife, his family and loved his food’ and will be ‘sorely missed’ by his wife, family, friends and the community.

Mr Daulby’s family paid tribute to ‘a down-to-earth man whose last act was to save others’.

The statement included the following: ‘Adrian Daulby was a hero and tragically lost his life while showing the courage to save others; He will forever be remembered for his heroic action on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

‘The family is shocked by the tragic, sudden death of such a lovely and down-to-earth man.’

Rabbi Daniel Walker said he ‘wasted no time’ considering the motivations of Al-Shamie, who attacked his synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, earlier this month.

Rabbi Daniel Walker stands guard outside his synagogue after the attack

Rabbi Daniel Walker and King George III. Charles spotted the floral gifts during a visit to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on October 2, 18 days after the attack.

Yoni Finlay, 39, was also injured when he was accidentally shot by an armed police officer.

He told the BBC’s Today program that while he acknowledged the deaths of Mr Cravitz and Mr Daulby, he did not have the ‘mental space’ to consider why the 35-year-old ISIS supporter had targeted them. He left a ‘huge void’ in his congregation.

Rabbi Walker described Mr. Cravitz and Mr. Daulby as “very, very special men.”

‘Adrian was a very quiet man, a very honorable man, always smiling, always kind, very much loved by his family and neighbors,’ Rabbi Walker said.

‘Melvin was also a great man, a family man. He was loved and known by everyone, always happy to help, always smiling, and loved by his neighbors and friends.

‘Both will leave a huge hole. ‘We miss them so much.’

The rabbi’s voice cracked and became emotional as he described what happened during the attack, which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

He said the first thing he knew something was wrong was when he heard a ‘very loud explosion’. He then recognized the man as Al-Shamie, a British national of Syrian origin, who drove his car towards security guard Bernard Agyemang before crashing into the wall.

‘Men ran into the main synagogue shouting, ‘Close the doors, close the windows, we are being attacked,'” Rabbi Walker said.

‘Adrian moved with a speed, reaction time and instincts I’ve never seen before… he jumped up and closed the door and probably saved many lives.

‘One of the things I will remember about Adrian is how that quiet guy suddenly became a hero who jumped in to do the right thing.’

Another worshiper, Andrew Franks, who was a volunteer security guard that day, later tried to block Al-Shamie’s path, which delayed his entry, Rabbi Walker said.

However, Mr Franks was stabbed and suffered serious injuries, which subsequently resulted in him being hospitalized for more than two weeks.

Rabbi Walker described Mr Franks as ‘a very, very brave man’.

‘He was in the foyer and was very seriously injured, thankfully he is recovering,’ he added.

‘The attacker was throwing himself at the doors, all the doors were shaking, so a lot of men came and supported the doors and held them to make sure he couldn’t get through.’

Rabbi Walker said he heard Al-Shamie, who was later revealed to be out on bail for rape, shout “these are killing our children,” referring to the war in Gaza.

Police later revealed that Al-Shamie called 999 minutes later and declared: ‘I killed two Jews in the name of the Islamic state.’

Al-Shamie (pictured outside the synagogue) traveled to the UK with his family as a young child and was granted UK citizenship in 2006, when he was around 16.

‘It all happened so quickly, it only took a few minutes, but time definitely slowed down,’ Rabbi Walker added.

He had previously described looking at Al-Shamie through the window of the synagogue door and seeing ‘evil and hatred’.

Armed officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) arrived at the scene within minutes and in a shocking video circulating on social media, officers are seen shouting at Al-Shamie, who was armed with a knife and later revealed to have a fake suicide belt, before shooting him to death in the courtyard outside.

Mr Daulby suffered a fatal gunshot wound from a police weapon, while father-of-three Yoni Finlay, 39, was also accidentally shot by police officers but survived.

Referring to Al-Shamie, Rabbi Walker said he “didn’t waste any time with him.”

‘I don’t have the mental space to think about him or why he (did) what he did,’ the rabbi said.

He said antisemitism was not “a Jewish problem per se” but a “social” problem, and that it was up to society to combat hatred.

Rabbi Walker stated that he did not hesitate to open the synagogue after the attack, and announced that 1000 people attended his first service.

‘We danced and cried at the same time,’ he added.

‘It was standing room only, people from every synagogue in the city came to support us.

‘We are resilient, we will continue to live, and the synagogue is still a place of prayer and holiness.’

To the question of whether the attack was a ‘threshold’ or a line in the sand, he responded as follows: ‘I hope this threshold has been crossed and we will be better as a society from now on.

‘I’d like to see all this support, all this care and all the goodness that I know is there become a more visible part of our society.’

He said that initially he and his synagogue felt “very alone” but “very quickly realized that we were not.”

Rabbi Walker described King Charles’s visit to the synagogue a few days later as the ‘peak’ of this support.

‘It meant a lot to all of us, it meant the community cared,’ he added.