Adrian Daulby, the 53-year-old man who was accidentally shot by police while preventing a knife-wielding attacker from entering a Manchester synagogue, has been buried in Salford. The funeral took place at Agecroft Jewish cemetery on Monday, where he was described as a “tremendously strong hero”.
Daulby died on Thursday after being struck by a stray bullet during the police response to the attack at Heaton Park Shul. He and other worshippers had prevented Jihad al-Shamie from breaking into the synagogue after Shamie rammed his car into the gate. Shamie was shot dead by firearms officers, but a stray bullet hit Daulby, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the attack, which occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Melvin Cravitz, 66, was also killed. Three other men remain in hospital with serious injuries, including a security guard with car-related injuries and a Community Security Trust worker with stab wounds.
Rabbi Daniel Walker, who had been leading a service at the synagogue at the time, eulogised Daulby as a “quiet man” who showed bravery “when evil struck”. He said: “I watched him leap from his seat, run to the door. He braced the doors and he held the doors against our attacker. Adrian didn’t run away from danger. Adrian ran to help.”
Daulby’s nieces called him a “true hero” who “never deserved what happened to him”. Neighbours said he was known for his love of animals and for giving gifts to Muslim children on Eid. He was a cancer survivor and had been attending synagogue more regularly since his father’s death.
Shamie, 35, was on bail for an alleged rape at the time of the attack and may have been influenced by an extreme Islamist mindset, police said. Four people arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts remain in custody. The attack prompted an outpouring of grief, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to increase police and security presence outside synagogues.
