Giving evidence, Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes of Greater Manchester Police said the terrorist, Jihad Al-Shamie, had driven his car at security staff, then got out the vehicle and immediately made “stabbing motions” towards Cravitz, directed at his upper body, head and neck.
A provisional cause of death was given as “multiple stab wounds”.
The court was told that the terrorist “narrowly missed” hitting Cravitz and a security guard with his car.
A member of the Community Security Trust rushed to help Cravitz, who was taken to hospital. He died at Manchester Royal Infirmary at 10.38am, the court was told.
Cravitz worked for around 25 years at Halpern’s Kosher Supermarket in the heart of Salford’s Jewish community and was semi-retired at the time of his death.
People grieve in Manchester after two Jews were killed in Heaton Park Synagogue terror attack (Image: Getty)AFP via Getty Images
His family said in a statement: "Melvin would do anything to help anyone. He was so kind, caring and always wanted to chat and get to know people. He was devoted to his wife, family and loved his food. He will be sorely missed by his wife, family, friends and community."
Detective Superintendent Hughes told the court that Daulby, who was inside the synagogue at the time of the attack, was hit by a “single stray or possibly deflected bullet” fired by firearms officers as they shot dead Al-Shamie.
The court was told that Daulby held the doors shut “for two minutes” as the terrorist tried to enter.
He was hit in the chest with a bullet and died at 10.15am, the court heard. A provisional cause of death was given as “single gunshot wound to the chest”.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: Rabbi Daniel Walker and King Charles III view floral tributes during a visit to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on October 20, 2025 in Manchester, England. The King is visiting Manchester to show his support for the Jewish community in the city, following the attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on October 02. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)Getty Images
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme hours before the inquest began, Heaton Park’s Rabbi Walker remembered both men as “very, very special,” and “well known across the whole community”.
Cravitz “was a wonderful man, a family man,” and Daulby was “always with a smile,” Rabbi Walker said.
“They are both going to leave a massive hole. Their seats were very close to where my seat is in the synagogue. When I walk in on Shabbat morning, one of the first things that I see is where they should be ... We miss them a lot.”
Asked to recall the day of the attack, the rabbi said: “The first thing I heard was a very large bang.” He learnt later that this was the attacker driving into the shul's security guard and the wall.
“Then men ran into the main part of the synagogue shouting, ‘Close the doors, close the windows, we’re being attacked.’
Armed Police and emergency responders gather near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue following the terror attack on Yom Kippur, on October 2, 2025 (Image: Getty)Getty Images
“One of my most dominant memories is Adrian’s reaction,” Rabbi Walker continued. “He moved with a speed I've never seen. It is just emblazoned in my memory – Adrian's reaction time and instincts.
“Adrian leapt up and closed the door closest to where he and I were and thereby quite possibly saved a lot of lives,” Rabbi Walker said. “That quiet man suddenly became this hero who leapt to do the right thing. There was no freezing, there was only immediate action.”
The rabbi said he then moved to the entrance foyer of the shul: “That's when I became aware of Andrew, a very brave man who was outside on volunteer security who intersected the attacker and delayed him, thereby giving time for another very brave man, Alan, to close the front doors and lock them. He was in the foyer and was very badly injured.”
Once the doors were closed, Al-Shamie tried to force entry, Rabbi Walker said.
“The attacker was a very large man, and he was throwing himself against the door, and all of the doors were shaking.
“A large number of men bolstered the doors and held the doors to make sure that he wasn’t able to break through them.”
Rabbi Walker said he heard the attacker refer to “killing our children”. It has been reported that the attacker said, “This is what you get for killing our children.”
“It all happened very fast, as we now know it was only a matter of minutes; it felt like hours,” the rabbi said.
Reflecting on the groundswell of support that the community has received since the attack, the rabbi said King Charles’s visit last week was a powerful demonstration of how “society cares”.
The monarch spent time with “every single one” of the people who had been in the synagogue on the day of the attack, as well as the victims’ families and some of the first responders, the rabbi said.
“In a time of grief and tragedy, you feel very alone,” he said.
“But then very quickly, we realised we are not alone. The King's coming was the zenith of that.”
Congregants of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation comfort each other in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Yom Kippur (Photo: Getty)Getty Images
The rabbi added that he had been “heartened by the swell of support” and that services have been full since the attack.
During Sukkot, the congregation “danced and cried at the same time,” he went on. “We have a principle that a little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness ... We cannot despair, we cannot give up.
“We are going to continue living; the synagogue is still a place of prayer and holiness.”
The rabbi added that he did not have the “mental space” to think about the attacker and was instead focused on his community, ensuring “that we can respond as a community in the right way.”
“Antisemitism is a societal problem,” Rabbi Walker went on, adding that he hoped a “threshold was crossed” during the attack and “society will get better.”
“I would like to see all of that support and all of that care and all of that goodness that I know is out there be a more visible part of society.”
