A man who helped barricade a synagogue in northern Manchester has described how an attack, which killed two British Jews, unfolded.
On Thursday morning, Alan Levy was inside the Heaton Park synagogue when Jihad Al-Shamie rammed a car into and stabbed worshippers gathering for a service to mark Yom Kippur.
Mr Levy said the “monster” attacker tried to bash down the doors of the synagogue and he recalled locking the building down with other congregation members.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed in the attack on Thursday, while three others were injured trying to protect worshippers.
Mr Levy, who is a Chair of the Trustees of Heaton Park Synagogue, described holding the doors to the entrance and said the attacker used knives and plant pots to try to get in.
He told the : “I saw this great, big, evil monster shoulder charge in the front doors, trying to bash them down with a knife in his hand.
“The only thing I heard was him saying ‘this is what you’re going to get for killing our children’.
“That’s the only thing I heard him say. And we were behind the doors and we were saying ‘we are not letting this man in’.
“He was a deranged, evil monster.”
Mr Levy’s comments came as hundreds of people attended the funeral service for Mr Cravitz.
Family members, congregants from the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation including Rabbi Daniel Walker, and members of the wider Jewish community gathered in Pendlebury, Salford, to pay their respects.
Mourners filled the cemetery forecourt, with many standing outside the prayer hall in the rain, listening to the service and eulogy over loudspeakers.
In a tribute released on Friday, Mr Cravitz’s family said he would “do anything to help anyone”.
Greater Manchester Police said Mr Daulby appeared to have been hit by police gunfire as they shot the attacker shortly after the alarm was raised.
Mr Daulby, who was hailed by his family as a “hero”, was attending a service at the synagogue when the attack unfolded.
“He was a beloved brother, loving uncle to his four nieces and one nephew and a cherished cousin,” his family added.
“The family is shocked by the tragic, sudden death of such a lovely down to earth man.
“His final act was one of profound courage and he will forever be remembered for his heroic act.”
Several arrests have been made in relation to the attack and Mahmood said four people remained in custody on Sunday morning.
All four were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
Those arrested include two men, aged 30 and 32 and both arrested in Prestwich; a 61-year-old woman arrested in Prestwich; and a 46-year-old woman arrested in Farnworth.
An 18-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man were released with no further action, GMP said on Saturday.
