Rabbi Daniel Walker, the rabbi of the Manchester synagogue where two Jews were murdered in a Yom Kippur attack, recalled the moments of horror today and said that he noticed the terrorist Jihad al-Shami even before the prayer.
"When I arrived at the synagogue, there was something strange outside the gate. Someone who was behaving aggressively and suspiciously," the rabbi described in an interview with the British television channel ITV.
"Half an hour after the prayer started, I heard a very loud noise from outside, shouting. Someone was trying to come in with a knife." According to Rabbi Walker, a group of men from the community immediately came to the rescue and tried to block the doors. "There were a lot of us there who tried to stop him from coming in. They were very brave men," said Rabbi Walker.
Rabbi Walker excitedly emphasized the members of the community who were injured while trying to stop the attacker. "They are still hospitalized. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be here now." When asked about the attacker, he replied: "I'm not willing to waste mind space on him. He was bad. I want to focus on the good and the holy. I met evil face to face. We cannot let evil win. Each of us needs to change - in a very tangible way."
In Britain, it was announced this morning that the two who were murdered were Adrian Dawley (53) and Melvin Kravitz (66). Four more people were injured - three of them in serious condition, including a synagogue security guard who confronted the terrorist. Local police said that the terrorist was shot by the police officers who were called to the scene. According to estimates in Britain, one of the two killed was shot by one of the police officers - and was not hit by the terrorist.