King Charles meets ‘hero’ survivors of Manchester synagogue attack

King Charles met with survivors of the car and knife attack on a synagogue in Manchester that left two people dead.

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, carried out the attack at the city’s Heaton Park synagogue on October 2.

The monarch expressed his “sadness” after the “horrible” incident when he met with synagogue leaders and members of the Jewish community, including three people injured in the attack.

The King also spoke to members of the emergency services, including ambulance workers, who responded to the incident at Greater Manchester Police Station.

About 150 well-wishers lined up on a nearby street outside the synagogue, hoping to catch a glimpse of the monarch despite the rain.

Wearing the traditional kippa that Jews display as a sign of their Jewish identity, the King also met with three survivors of the attack in which Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed.

Volunteer security guard Andrew Franks, who was recently discharged from the hospital, returned to the synagogue for the first time since the attack.

Yoni Finlay, who was accidentally shot by police, was also in attendance and told the BBC he was in “very good physical condition”.

Speaking outside the synagogue, he said: “I’m doing very well. Physically, I’m doing very well.”

When he met the King, Mr Finlay said: “It was a huge honour. It’s quite surreal but quite an honour.

“I think it really sends a message. It shows support from the highest levels of the country. It was very special that he came. It was an honor to meet him.”

“Three weeks ago I saw the worst of humanity, but since then you’ve definitely seen the best, and there are a lot of good people out there.”

Professional security guard Bernard Agyemang, who was seriously injured when the attacker drove his car into him, entered and left the synagogue in a wheelchair.

Charles was introduced to the “heroes” by Rabbi Daniel Walker, a group of senior figures at the synagogue who helped stop the attack on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” the king told the group, which included synagogue president Alan Levy and president Hilary Foxler, who helped barricade the door.

Later, when he met other members of the congregation, the King commented on what he called “a terrible thing that had come out of nowhere.”

synagogue reopened Last week was the first since the attack to celebrate the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah earlier this week.

Alan Rubins, from Whitefield, said he “dropped everything” when he heard about the King’s visit to join the crowd.

“I wanted to pay my respects, just as the King paid his respects to the Jewish community of Manchester,” he said.

He said he thought it was “fantastic” that the King would cross the road for a “big gathering with the community”.

Gloria Levene, who went to see the king, said his visit was a “huge support” for the Jewish community.

Supt Kirsten Buggy said it was a “huge privilege” to meet the King during his visit to emergency responders.

“It’s been a tough few weeks and meeting the King and hearing from him really got us interested in the role we were all taking on – it was hugely uplifting from a morale perspective,” he said.