LONDON — LONDON — A vehicle was driven toward a crowd of people and a man was stabbed near a synagogue in Manchester, police said.

The incident occurred outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the north of the northern British city on Thursday morning, the Greater Manchester Police said on social media.

A member of the public told responding officers “he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public,” along with a man being stabbed, police said.

Police said at least four people had been injured, “with injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.”

Firearms officers responded to the call, police said. “One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” they added.

Police said they had declared the major incident, along with a “PLATO” designation, a law enforcement shorthand that that means the incident was being treated as a potential marauding terrorist attack.

Thursday is Yom Kippur, which is considered the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post to X that he was “appalled by the attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall.”

“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” the prime minister added.

“My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services and all the first responders,” Starmer wrote.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.