The suspect responsible for the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue was free on police bail related to an accusation of sexual assault at the time, as per reports.
The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was being probed over an alleged sex crime that reportedly occurred earlier this year.
Al-Shamie, of Syrian origin, is believed to have previous criminal convictions, though he had not drawn attention from anti-terror authorities.
The assailant was killed by police gunfire by armed officers after he killed a Jewish man and severely injured multiple other individuals during the assault on the Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester last Thursday.
Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives in the attack. One victim succumbed to a round discharged by armed police targeting Shamie.
Counter-terrorism police and intelligence agencies are working to uncover the attacker's background, with indications that he chose Yom Kippur, the most sacred day in the Jewish year, to target worshippers.
Although the attacker was not known to counter-terrorism agencies or referred to the anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent, he had faced prosecution for prior crimes.
It remains unclear when the reported rape occurred, but Shamie had been bailed while under investigation by local law enforcement.
One source indicated that he had additional prior offenses, though for minor infractions unrelated to terrorism.
“No one suspected him of terrorism but he certainly possessed a criminal record, though nothing to suggest he was going to do anything like this,” said one source.
Authorities are looking into whether the attacker was behind a threatening message to a former Conservative MP in 2012.
A message to the former MP was sent by someone identifying as “Jihad Alshamie” and said, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
The former MP, who stepped down as Henley's representative in 2024, expressed uncertainty if it was the same person and felt that authorities had not taken the threat against his life with adequate seriousness back then.
Media coverage from 2012 indicated that he was likely targeted due to his support for Israel.
“The last thing I want to appear as is a drama queen, but you have to take seriously a threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” the former MP said in 2012, in coverage by the Jerusalem Post.
“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 warped perspective of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He added that Thames Valley police had given him “highly effective security advice.”
Law enforcement have yet to verify whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted the former MP is the same individual who carried out the synagogue attack, but they are exploring a possible link.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said that Shamie was not under ongoing scrutiny by anti-terror units or intelligence services when the incident. They did not believe he had previously been on their radar, though investigations were still ongoing.
Lena Hoffmann is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in German current affairs and digital media trends.
