🔗 Share this article

The individual responsible for the deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue had been released on police bail related to an alleged rape when the incident took place, according to reports.

Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was under investigation for the reported sexual assault that is said to have happened earlier this year.

Al-Shamie, who was born in Syria, is believed to have a record of criminal offenses, though he had not drawn attention from counter-terrorism officials.

Shamie was killed by police gunfire by responding police following the murder of a Jewish man and severely injured multiple other individuals during the assault on the Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester on Thursday.

Two individuals, 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives during the incident. One victim succumbed to a round discharged by armed police targeting the attacker.

Anti-terror units and security services are currently investigating the assailant's history, with indications that he selected the holiest day in Judaism, the highest holy day in the Jewish year, to attack those praying.

Although the attacker had not been flagged to counter-terrorism agencies or referred to the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for criminal offenses.

The exact timing the alleged sexual assault occurred, but the suspect was on bail while being investigated by Greater Manchester police.

One source indicated that he possessed other criminal convictions, albeit for minor infractions unrelated to terrorism.

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he certainly possessed a history of crime, though no indication he was going to do such an extreme act,” said one source.

Authorities are examining whether Shamie sent a threatening message to a ex-Member of Parliament in 2012.

The email to the former MP was sent by someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie” and stated, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”

Howell, who stepped down as MP for Henley in 2024, said he was unsure if it was the same person and believed that authorities did not treat the death threat seriously enough back then.

A news report from that year suggested that he may have been singled out due to his support for Israel.

“I don’t want to seem overdramatic, but you have to take seriously a menacing message when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” the former MP remarked at the time, in coverage from media outlets.

“It is not just a question of me, it is my family and my staff. All it takes is one person out there who is unstable enough, with a distorted view of life, to make an attempt to act on it.” He noted that Thames Valley police had provided him with “extremely good security advice.”

Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged the former MP is the same individual who committed the assault on the synagogue, but they are exploring a potential connection.

Shabana Mahmood, Shabana Mahmood, stated that the attacker was not under ongoing scrutiny by anti-terror units or security agencies when the incident. They did not believe he had previously been on their watchlist, although inquiries were still ongoing.